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AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 







THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 

LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 

TORONTO 



AMERICA 
CITIZENSHI 



BY 



CHARLES A. BEARD 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICS IN COLUMBIA 
UNIVERSITY 

AND 

MARY RITTER BEARD 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

1914 

All rights reserved 






Copyright, 1914, 
By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published April, 1914. 



APR {6-r9i4 



J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©C!,A369701 



PREFACE 

In view of the large number of textbooks on civics already 
available, some very decided reasons should be forthcoming 
from those who venture to add another one to the long list. 
Our first plea in justification of this volume is our belief that 
the books on government now offered to the schools have cer- 
tain fundamental defects. 

An examination of the extensive collection of texts in the 
Library of Congress, which embraces all of the most recent 
books on civics, shows that they fall into two groups : those 
which are formal and legal, and those which are " sociological," 
in character. The authors of the first group err, in our opinion, 
in treating government as a multitude of rules already well 
settled which, when committed to memory, are calculated to 
make good and wise citizens. The authors of the second group, 
it seems to us, in their revolt against the mechanistic theory 
of government, err just as much in minimizing those concrete 
political and administrative processes by which social work of 
a public character is accomplished and in emphasizing in civics 
private activities which are remote from official operations. For 
example, the principle of the separation of governmental powers, 
so scorned by the sociological school, is in fact more important, 
as we try to show, than half of the beneficent enterprises under- 
taken in the name of modern collectivism. 

And both groups of books are equally in error in so far as 
they seem to regard civic life as static or settled rather than 
dynamic and progressive. By treating government in all its 
manifestations as a machine rather than a process, and by treating 



vi Preface 

social institutions as accomplished facts rather than as phases of 
social evolution, we must obviously put the pupils in the posi- 
tion of automatons moving in a world already finished — whereas 
we should regard them as creative factors in social life. 

We are also unable to agree with those who view civics as a 
mere community study. In our opinion this is liable to be both 
superficial and anti-social, in so far as it stresses street-cleaning, 
gas plants, and local charitable institutions to the almost total 
exclusion of the fundamental outside influences which condition 
the life of the community. Just as the mother cannot act intel- 
ligently in the home unless she knows about the play of outside 
forces on the home, so the citizen cannot act intelligently in the 
community unless he views it in its proper relation to the state 
and nation. Perhaps the garbage cart is the only community 
institution which is purely local in character. All other essen- 
tial matters — water, milk, food, clothing, shelter, education, 
income, and freedom — cannot be determined by community 
action ; they are of state and national concern. The simpler 
community matters might very well be taken up in the eighth 
grade in place of some of the history now given there. 

Another serious objection to the books on civics now avail- 
able is that they are written almost wholly from a masculine 
point of view and appeal only to boys, destined to be voters. 
As a matter of fact, the vast majority of pupils in the high 
schools are girls, and if civics concerns only potential voters the 
subject should be confined to boys except in those states where 
women are enfranchised. But, in truth, civics concerns the whole 
community, and women constitute half of that community. They 
are mothers whom society holds largely responsible for the 
health and conduct of citizens ; they are engaged in industries 
and professions of all kinds ; they are taxpayers ; they are sub- 
ject to the laws ; they suifer from the neglect of government as 
much as do the men ; and they are just as deeply interested in 
government — whether they vote or not. Any work on civics 
which ignores the changed and special position of modern 
women in the family, in industry, before the law, and in the 



Preface vii 

intellectual life of the community is, therefore, less than half a 
book. 

Although we believe that the spirit of a book and the method 
of approach are more important than any technicalities in ar- 
rangement, we have not adopted the general plan which follows 
without considering those problems of proportion, induction, 
and progressive development which have thus far drawn a great 
deal of attention from teachers of civics. There is, for instance, 
the vexed question whether the immature student should begin 
with local or national government. We have not been oblivious 
to the long and eloquent arguments which teachers have made 
over this issue; but it has seemed to us that both sides are 
so equally balanced that a discriminating person may decide 
either way. 

The chief point usually made in favor of approaching through 
local government is that it is more concrete and simpler. We 
have come to the conclusion, on carefully weighing the matter, 
that this argument is largely illusory ; that the concreteness and 
simplicity are more imaginary than real. The federal post office 
is as concrete as the town hall and the ways of Congress are 
not more mysterious than the devious methods of the town 
caucus which constitutes the " invisible " local government. 
The tariff sheets of charges posted at the local railway station 
under orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission may not 
be as concrete as the living, breathing poundkeeper or road 
supervisor of the village ; but any civics which treats them as 
any less real is worse than wrong — it is pernicious. Then take 
the family with which the apostles of simplicity would fain 
begin. Is there in all the world anything more complex than 
the really important truths about this ancient institution ? 

No method of approach to government can in fact be simple. 
Our first word, as Pollock and Maitland say at the beginning of 
their History of English Law, must cut a seamless web too large 
for any human eye, and all we can do is to watch the whence 
and whither of the few threads which fall under our eyes. In 
very truth, it would seem that all subjects save mathematics and 



viii Preface 

languages are beyond the grasp of the immature pupil, and even 
the mathematicians and philologists have their warnings for us. 
But in a democracy it is essential that the citizens should have 
as clear an outlook as possible upon government and its prob- 
lems and, though the complexity of all approaches to civics 
would bid us halt, the need of things must overcome our scru- 
ples. We have simply chosen to start with the individual and 
his position in industry and his rights under the law. A score 
of other ways might have been chosen with equal justification, 
perhaps, but a beginning had to be made somewhere. 

We have given little consideration to the problem whether 
ours is the best government in the world, not because we are 
w^anting in proper patriotic sentiments, but because the answer 
to that question is of little moment as compared with that 
greater question : is ours the best government which it is pos- 
sible for the American people to establish and maintain ? 

We have tried throughout this book to emphasize the great 
principles of government rather than to give a description of 
the intricate details of political organization and social work 
which will be obsolete in all probability before high school 
students have reached the voting age. 

At the close of each chapter we have placed some simple 
questions based on the text, and we have given a few leading 
•topics with references to one or more standard works, a com- 
plete list of which appears in the appendix.- In the appendix 
also will be found an extended list of questions which require 
more or less research on the part of the students, and the 
teacher will make use of them or not, according to the amount 
of time which may be devoted to the course. 

In our opinion, civics should be taught in the first year of the 

1 Unfortunately, most of the live material on practical civics is in the peri- 
odical literature ; but knowing full well the difficulties which confront the teacher 
of large classes who attempts to make use of scattered articles, we have confined 
our bibliographical references to a few books which are readily available. We have 
appended a copy of the federal Constitution with amendments, and we have con- 
stantly cited it in the text. It is important that the student should acquire the 
habit of examining its language carefully on every point covered by it. 



Preface ix 

high school for two fundamental reasons. The first is that a 
large number of pupils drop out after the first year, and if the 
purpose of instruction in civics is good citizenship, the subject 
should be placed in the course of study at the point where the 
most students will be reached. The second reason is that a 
study of the concrete political and social life of our age and 
country ought to precede, not follow, the more abstract study 
of past ages and of countries which we have never seen. 

This volume, therefore, does not fit into the accepted scheme 
in which civics is disposed of by a few general and cursory 
reflections made during the closing weeks of the American his- 
tory course at the end of the fourth year. It is an invitation 
to teachers to introduce the subject during the first term of the 
first year of the high school, and by the use of the additional 
topical references they can make the course as advanced as the 
circumstances warrant. 

C. A. B. 

M. R. B. 

New York, 
January, 1914. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART I 

HUMAN NEEDS AND THE GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Nature of Modern Government .... 3 

II. Food, Clothing, and Shelter 8 

III. The Family 21 

IV. Civil Liberty 34 

V. Property Rights 54 

VI. Political Liberty 64 



PART II 

THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT — OFFICERS, 
ELECTIONS, AND PARTIES 

VII. The Great Parts of American Government ... 79 

VIII. The National Government 95 

IX. State Government 121 

X. The Government of Cities 130 

XI. Government in Country Districts 140 

XII. Political Parties 145 

XIII. Representative Government and Direct Democracy . 159 



PART III 

THE WORK OF GOVERNMENT 

XIV. The Services Rendered by the Federal Government . 173 
XV. The Work of the State Government .... 219 

xi 



xii Table of Contents 

CHAPTER PACK 

XVI. How THE City Government Serves the Community 242 

XVII. The Work of Rural Government .... 271 

XVIII. The Government and Public Opinion .... 287 

Research Questions 298 

The Constitution of the United States 312 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING PAGE 

Those on whom we depend for Coal 6 'v^ 

Shucking Oysters for the Market 12 ■■ 

Congestion in a Smaller City 12 i^' 

How Thread is spun To-day 16 ^ 

A Little Mother 30 '-^ 

A Home Factory 30 

Freedom of Speech and Assembly 42 ''^ 

An Event in the Lawrence Strike of 1912 60 '^ 

Dorr calling upon his Followers to take up Arms for the Right to 

Vote page 70 

President Wilson reading his Message to Congress . . . .87; 

The White House 110 

Justices of the Supreme Court 118 - ' 

Open-air Voting in the Eighteenth Century .... page 151 - ^ 

A National Irrigation Plant 194'"'' 

The New York Bread Line 228 ^''' 

A Victim of an Industrial Accident . 230 

Night Work in a Glass Factory 230 

A Chicago Court for Delinquent Girls 246 

A Policewoman • 250 

A Municipal Milk Station ... - 258 

Food Inspection . 258 

The Need of Healthful Play .262 

An Exhibit showing the City as a Farmer 266 

Good and Bad Roads 275 

In the Southern Cotton Fields To-day 278 ^ ^^ 

Mass Meeting in Cooper Union, New York 288 ^ 



xiii 



PART I 

HUMAN NEEDS AND THE GOVEENMENT 



CHAPTER I 
THE NATURE OF MODERN GOVERNMENT 

I. The old notion of the government as a mystery. 

1. Government formerly conducted for the benefit of a ruling 

class. 

2. Our political terms recall older days. 

II. Government now viewed as the people's servant. 

1. The government not a mystery. 

2. Necessity for government grows out of our dependence 

upon one another. 

3. We perform duties and secure rights through the fovern- 

ment. 

4. The government helps ^^pre the individual cannot help 

himself. 

III. The plan of this book. 

IV. The purpose of the teaching of civics. 
1. Private virtues in public service. 



The old notion of government as a mystery. — Until 
recent times government was everywhere regarded as some- 
thing mysterious and beyond the ken of ordinary mortals. 
Indeed it is so regarded in many countries of the world to-day, 
and as we call to mind the pomp and ceremony which sur- 
round the courts of kings, we ourselves are likely to be im- 
pressed with what the old writers called " the majesty and 
divinity of sovereigns." Military display, gilt and tinsel 
decorations, and gorgeous pageantry have been regularly 
employed by rulers to keep the people in awe of public author- 
ity and to prevent them from becoming too familiar with 
affairs of state. Even writers on political science have 
often warned their readers against inquiring too closely 

3 



4 Afnerican Citizenship 

into the origin and nature of government and have sought 
to instill a spirit of veneration quite apart from any under- 
standing of the government. 

Government formerly conducted for the benefit of a ruling 
class. — Many generations ago in England, to which coun- 
try our government owes its origin, the king and his nobles 
were the government, and they held that it was the business 
of the mass of the people — the peasants, merchants, and 
artisans — to pay taxes to support the rulers and to bear 
arms in wars waged for their benefit. The people there are 
still called " subjects," not citizens ; the army is the " royal 
army " ; the navy is called the " royal navy " ; and as a 
wag once said '' nothing but the debt is national.'' This 
calls to mind the olden times when the government was 
little more than a big policeman and tax-collector, and its 
purpose was to benefit the ruling class. 

Our political terms recall older days. — Many of our terms 
of politics are derived from older days, when the people were 
regarded as subjects under a government rather than citi- 
zens cooperating through a government. Even the word 
" government " itself comes from the Latin word guhernare, 
meaning to rule, which implies some as masters and others 
as subjects. The great word '^ patriotism" comes from pater ^ 
or father, which carries with it the notion of authority above 
rather than the more democratic idea of fraternity or cooper- 
ation among equals. 

Government now viewed as the people's servant. — By 
a long and gradual process, which cannot be described here, 
the power of government was wrested from the king and his 
nobles and declared to be vested in the people, or, to speak 
more accurately, in the voters. So it has come about in the 
United States that the government is not a special group of 
persons selected by exalted royal authority and empowered 
to rule over us, but is simply a certain number of citizens 
set aside in each village, township, county, city and state, 



The Nature of Modern Government 5 

and in the nation, and instructed by the voters to undertake 
certain tasks for the people. These officers are either elected 
directly by the voters or appointed by officers who derive 
their authority from the voters. Moreover, we now speak 
of our people, not as " subjects," but as " citizens," and of 
the government not as a '' sovereign," but as a " servant," 
doing those things which the voters decide should be under- 
taken by public authorities. 

The government not a " mystery.'' — Under the circum- 
stances, we do not regard the government as a mysterious 
institution, but simply as an agent to serve the community, 
— to do work for the good of the people, — work which 
cannot be done as well by private persons and companies. 
It is true that this ideal is not perfectly carried out in prac- 
tice, but it is a great gain to have established the principle 
that the purpose of government is not to sustain a ruling 
class, but to satisfy the needs of the people which cannot be 
better met in some other way. 

The necessity for government grows out of our dependence 
upon one another. — We have a government in the United 
States simply because we all have needs which we cannot 
satisfy by our own individual efforts. Only a Robinson 
Crusoe can live without a government of some sort. Every 
American family cannot produce its own food, build its own 
shelter, protect itself from criminals and epidemics, educate 
its own members at home, carry its own products to the con- 
sumers, and fetch its purchases from the four corners of the 
earth. We are, in fact, dependent upon one another for 
liberty, health, and safety, as well as for the necessaries of 
life. We cannot see or know all those persons upon whom 
we are dependent, — the miners down in the depths of the 
earth, the girls in the cotton mills of New England, the 
farmers on the Western plains. We cannot meet them 
face to face and know that they have been fairly paid or 
justly treated for their labors from which we have benefited. 



6 American Citizenship 

We perform duties and secure rights through the government. 
— It is just because we cannot individually do justice to 
those who serve us or secure justice for ourselves that we 
must have a government. The farmer, for example, cannot 
be sure that the coal that keeps him warm in winter has been 
dug only in mines where proper safety appliances have been 
used to prevent the great loss of life among the miners, 
unless the government makes certain wise laws and care- 
fully inspects all of the coal mines. The purchaser of food 
and other commodities cannot know whether the rates 
charged for freight by railways are just and fair, but the 
government may investigate this matter and fix rates that 
are proper. 

The government helps where the individual cannot help him- 
self. — To sum up, the purpose of government, as we view 
it in our day, is to do those things which cannot be done 
well or justly by individuals working alone, and to regulate 
the doings of private persons in such a manner as to improve 
the general standard of life, labor, and education. The very 
essence of government, according to the democratic ideal, 
is cooperation or union of effort for the common good. This 
does not mean that the individual should be less industrious, 
temperate, or virtuous, but that whenever and wherever we 
can accomplish better results or have great and beneficent 
work done more easily by uniting our efforts in the govern- 
ment, we should do so. When the government builds a 
levee or regulates railway rates, it does not take away the 
courage or virtue of any citizens. It simply does what the 
citizens, no matter how courageous or virtuous, cannot do 
without combining to do through a central committee or 
bureau called the government. 

The plan of this book. — In viewing the government as an 
agent of common welfare, we have divided this book into 
three parts : to show (1) which of our personal needs are 
beyond complete individual satisfaction and involve govern- 



The Nature of Modern Government 7 

mental action; (2) how the great branches of the govern- 
ment, national, state, and local, are organized to deal with 
these needs ; and (3) what work the government now under- 
takes in recognition of these needs. 

The purpose of the teaching of civics. — In considering 
our government under these three heads, we shall try to give 
some idea of its history and its various branches. But 
above all we shall endeavor to show how our daily work 
brings us into touch with the government, what principal 
issues the voters are thinking about to-day, and how the 
citizen and voter can take part in controlling the govern- 
ment and in creating the public opinion to which the gov- 
ernment must yield. What is perhaps most important of 
all is that the student should know that there is always work 
to be done to increase the efficiency with which the present 
government performs its tasks, to perfect the machinery of 
government, and to improve its functions as a public ser- 
vant. In the proper study of civics, therefore, the citizen 
not only learns how the government works, but acquires an 
interest in helping to improve it. 

Private virtues in public service. — It is an ideal of every 
good citizen to leave the world a little better than he found 
it. Intelligent voting is one way of attaining this ideal; 
for by intelligent voting, old and established public work 
may be improved and new and beneficent services may be 
undertaken. Religion, education, interest in one's fellow- 
men, and all those virtues which lift mankind above the 
brute kingdom may be as nobly employed in advancing the 
common good through governmental service as in elevating 
private conduct through precept and example. 



8 American Citizenship 

Questions 

1. What is the advantage in having the government regarded as 
a mystery? 

2. Why do we have a government at all ? 

3. For whom does the government exist ? 

4. Which is better : to be regarded as a citizen or as a subject ? 

5. What is meant by "public servants" ? 

6. Name a coimtry where people are still regarded as subjects. 

7. Name a country besides ours where people are regarded as 
citizens. 

8. What is meant by cooperation ? 



Additional Reading 

The Government a Means of Cooperation among Individuals : 
Ward, The Social Center, pp. 1-18. 



CHAPTER II 
FOOD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER 

I. The connection between food, clothing, and shelter. 
II. Changes in industry bring changes in government. 

III. Life and work in olden times. 

1. How the family took care of itself. 

2. A livelihood reasonably certain. 

3. Old-fashioned workshops and factories. 

4. Commerce and trading of less importance. 

IV. The industrial revolution. 
V. The division of labor. 

1. How the division of labor brings the government into 

action. 

2. Increased travel and transportation. 

3. The government and the quantity of goods produced. 

4. The demand for foreign markets raises questions of foreign 

policies for the government. 
VI. The factory system. 

1. The consumers' interest in the factory system. 

2. The owner's interest. 

3. Owners who do not manage their factories. 

4. The laborer's interest in industry. 

5. The wages system. 

6. The capital and labor question. 

VII. How the government becomes interested in housing. 

1. The majority of people in cities do not own their homes. 

2. Public regulation of housing, 

3. Rural homes. 



The connection between food, clothing, and shelter and 
the government. — It may seem strange at j&rst thought to 
connect food, clothing, and shelter with government, but in 
fact the way we obtain these necessities determines, in a 

9 



lo American Citizenship 

large measure, the nature of the government and the work 
which it has to do. We have only to compare the govern- 
ment of a big city with that of a rural region to discover an 
obvious illustration of this truth. It is the different ways 
which people have of living and working in cities that require 
many more public services, such as waterworks, gas plants, 
street lighting, tenement inspection, sewers and collection 
of wastes, and a score of government activities which are 
not required in the country at all. Then one could go on 
to multiply illustrations by calling attention to the disposal 
of government lands, the regulation of railway rates, the 
tariff, labor laws, forest conservation, dairy inspection, and 
innumerable other matters which bring our struggle for 
food, clothing, and shelter into contact with the government. 

Changes in industry bring changes in government. — Fur- 
thermore, it is the changes in our ways of securing food, cloth- 
ing, and shelter that are principally responsible for changes 
in the nature and work of government. It is because the 
ways of meeting these great human needs now in use are 
so different from the methods employed in other ages, that 
our governments have so many problems totally different from 
those of governments a generation or more ago. These 
problems are very troublesome and difficult to understand, 
but it is necessary to try to grasp them, because the work of 
modern government would otherwise be meaningless. We 
can, perhaps, best approach the matter by noting the most 
important industrial changes which have come over our 
country since independence from Great Britain was ob- 
tained. 

Life and work in olden times. — Our early American 
ancestors lived in the country or in very small towns sur- 
rounded by the fields from which their principal food sup- 
plies came. They produced at home almost everything that 
was needed. The men and women, assisted by their chil- 
dren, grew their own food and made all their coarser clothing. 



Food, Clothing, and Shelter ii 

The men hewed down the forests and built their own houses 
and made their simple furniture. The women spun and 
wove, helped in the fields, made bread and soap and carpets 
and candles, and did their own sewing by hand. The chil- 
dren were not compelled to go to school, and if they went at 
all, it was only for a few months in the winter. 

How the family took care of itself. — Each family was then 
practically self-supporting and independent of the outside 
world for the real necessities of life. There can still be seen 
here and there in the North, old-fashioned homes which show 
how independent the former dwellers were of merchants, 
travelers, manufacturers, and railways. In the great fire- 
places, wood from the neighboring forest was burned, so that 
there was no dependence upon coal miners and railways for 
fuel. In the huge '^ Dutch '^ ovens, the family baking was 
done. In the spacious attic or in a special house stood the 
spinning wheels, reels, looms, and dye vats where carpets and 
coarse cloth were made and dyed. In the tool house there 
was a forge and the blacksmith's tools, where the simple agri- 
cultural and domestic implements were wrought by hand. 
In the cellars and closets stores of food were laid by for the 
winter from the field and orchard and, in the smokehouse, 
bacon, hams, and quarters of beef were cured for the family 
use. In the South, similar conditions existed, except that the 
labor on the large plantations was performed by slaves. One 
who wishes a mental picture of the old days needs only to 
visit the home of Washington at Mount Vernon, where all 
the old tools, implements, and household equipment are 
preserved intact. 

A livelihood reasonably certain. — Luxuries like tea and 
silks were imported by the well-to-do families, but the 
fundamental needs were supplied at home. Not without hard 
labor, it is true, but certainly by hard labor the family was 
secure against the bitter sting of poverty, with its dire un- 
certainty. Helpless old people were cared for by their 



12 American Citizenship 

children or by their neighbors, and the families helped one 
another in times of illness, or when specially laborious tasks 
had to be performed. 

Old-fashioned workshops and factories. — When Washing- 
ton was inaugurated President, only three per cent of the 
people lived in towns of over eight thousand. In the coun- 
try, where most of the people dwelt, the men, women, and 
children did not work for wages, but in order to satisfy their 
own wants. They were thus their own masters for the 
most part, because they owned the land and the tools with 
which they worked. Even the artisans in the towns were 
frequently independent because they worked with hand 
machinery which they owned themselves or expected to 
acquire at the end of an apprenticeship. Moreover, the 
poor of the towns and the country regions of the East could 
look forward to a life of independence by acquiring cheap 
land in the West. Slaves were, however, without property 
and bound to the soil. 

Commerce and trading of less importance. — Money did 
not circulate as it does to-day. Barter and trade ran through 
the whole system of business. Country people brought their 
produce to the stores ; the retailers passed it on to the whole- 
salers in exchange for manufactures. For example, the corn 
and bacon of the Middle West were shipped down the Mis- 
sissippi to New Orleans, where they were exchanged for 
molasses, whisky, tea, coffee, and other commodities. There 
were but few joint-stock companies or corporations engaged 
in business. The manufacturer or business man superin- 
tended his own plant. Outside of the government securities 
there were only a few stocks and bonds to be sold on stock 
exchanges, so that the field of finance and banking was 
very narrow. Great riches were made principally out of 
land speculation and fortunate shipping ventures at sea, or 
by trading with the Indians. There was relatively little 
travel, and if any considerable number of people did not 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee. 

Shucking Oysters for the Mark:5t 




Congestion in a Smaller City 



Food, Clothing, and Shelter 13 

like the rates of a stage driver, they could easily encourage 
the establishment of a competing concern. 

The industrial revolution. — One has only to imagine the 
ways of living and working in those old days and compare 
them with the modern ways to realize how great has been 
the change. Indeed, writers call this break with old methods 
" the industrial revolution," and justly point out that it has 
wrought vaster changes in human life than all the previous 
revolutions since the beginning of civilization. It was, 
however, such a peaceful revolution, and came about so 
rapidly, that many people still think the thoughts of the old 
world while they perform their daily labor in a new one, 
and sometimes declare that inasmuch as it was not necessary 
for the government to concern itself with regulating the 
safety of stage coaches, it should let railways conduct their 
business with the same freedom from interference. To 
realize the connection between government and ways of 
gaining a livelihood, let us bring together here a summary of 
changes which were brought about by the industrial revolu- 
tion. 

The division of labor. — The first great change we should 
note is the division of labor, for this destroyed that old 
independence of the family from the outside world, and 
made us all dependent upon one another. Nowadays the 
individual specializes in one or two trades. There are 
people, for instance, who spend their lives watching machines 
stick pins into papers, or put heads on matches, and who 
could not possibly make a whole pin or a match. Instead 
of each family performing all, or nearly all, of the tasks 
necessary to produce the articles the members use, we have 
the family dependent upon some very special trades, such 
as cotton spinning or automobile manufacturing. Of course 
we are speaking now mainly of manufactures, but even in 
the farming regions, the people no longer make their cloth- 
ing and their farming implements. There are not many 



14 American Citizenship 

farmers to-day who can shoe a horse, sharpen a plow- 
share, and half -sole a pair of boots. 

This specialization is geographical as well. There are 
countries and regions which specialize in grain production, 
so that we have great areas exporting wheat and corn and 
importing other foodstuffs and manufactures. Some regions 
specialize in iron and steel ; others in fruits and dairy prod- 
uce, and so on. Such specialization requires large receiving 
and distributing centers, warehouses, canneries, and markets. 

How this division of labor brings the government into action. 
— This specialization touches the government in many 
ways. In the old days, for example, when people produced 
and cooked their own foods, they knew what ingredients 
entered into them. They could attend to the purity of their 
food without laws about the subject, or, if they chose to be 
dirty and careless, the guilty parties were the principal 
sufferers. In our day, on the other hand, the canners of 
food and packers of meat do not have to eat their own prod- 
ucts, and consumers in order to be sure of certain standards 
of purity have demanded pure food laws and the inspection 
of manufacturing concerns and shipments to prevent adul- 
teration. 

Increased travel and transportation. — A further result of 
this specialization, which also involves the government very 
directly, is the necessity for extensive transportation systems. 
Food must be sent from place to place by train and steamer, 
and the rates and arrangements for freight handling affect 
both the producer and consumer of foodstuffs. The element 
of what is called " monopoly " enters in here, because the 
number of railway lines between two centers is necessarily 
limited, and not even one line can be built without the 
approval of the government. In fact, in the United States 
the governments — federal and state — have contributed 
enormous sums of money and vast areas of land to the 
companies which have constructed the transportation sys- 



Food, Clothing, and Shelter 15 

terns. Thus a double link is formed between the govern- 
ment and the transportation of food. 

The government and the quantity of goods produced. — 
Another important element in the production of foodstuffs 
is, of course, the quantity. Even here it is not merely the 
industry of individuals which counts. The government 
may foster certain industries, such as sugar production, by 
tariffs and bounties. By its system of taxation it may 
encourage or discourage agricultural improvements. By 
agricultural colleges and experiment stations and model 
farms, it may spread knowledge which will enable the 
farmers to increase their crops. The conservation of the 
forests in a proper manner affects rainfall and the washing 
away of rich soil. Irrigation develops vast arid regions. 
Levees prevent overflows of rivers, and canals drain swamps. 

The demand for foreign markets raises questions of foreign 
policies for the government. — Specialization has one more 
governmental aspect. Our producers must be able to sell 
their produce all over this country and in foreign countries. 
If clothing makers, carpenters, and lumbermen cannot buy 
food, farmers cannot buy clothing and have homes built. 
Thus the question of facilities for marketing and transpor- 
tation, of bringing producer and buyer together, of opening 
foreign markets, — matters which were once thought to be 
wholly private concerns, — are brought more or less within 
the scope of government. 

The factory system. — The second great change brought 
about by the industrial revolution is the factory system — 
the production of both food and clothing in great buildings 
by special groups of laborers operating expensive machinery 
which they do not own. This system has a triple interest : 
for the consumer, for the owner, and for the laborer. 

The consumer's interest in the factory system. — As we have 
pointed out in the case of food supplies, adulteration of all 
kinds may enter into production when the consumer ceases 



i6 American Citizenship 

to direct it personally. This applies to clothing as well 
as foodstuffs. Silks may be stiffened by solutions of tin; 
cotton and shoddy may be mixed with wool ; and sham 
leather soles for shoes may be made out of paper. Glucose 
mixed with jam is perhaps not as dangerous to health as 
paper-soled shoes. In view of the extent to which adultera- 
tion is carried on, the consumer is beginning 'to ask for pro- 
tection by the government in his struggle for good cloth- 
ing as well as for pure food. Moreover, clothing is fre- 
quently made in tenements and sweatshops in cities where 
contagious diseases flourish, and may spread from the makers 
to the wearers. The consumer is also interested in the cost of 
production in factories. 

The owner^s interest. — The owner's concern in the factory 
arises from the necessity of paying interest on the capital 
invested and his natural desire to make a profit out of the 
business. Factory owners are, therefore, constantly strug- 
gling against too much interference by the government on be- 
half of the consumer and the employees, and also against 
combinations of employees, known as trade unions, which 
fight to raise wages and reduce hours. Orders from govern- 
ment factory inspectors requiring them to put their build- 
ings into a safer and more sanitary condition may cause so 
much expense as to compel them to quit business, and the 
success of a trade union in raising wages may take away all 
of the profits and make impossible the payment of interest 
on the investment. Again, factory owners usually derive a 
benefit from the protective tariff on the goods they produce 
(p. 183), and they are always on the watch to increase the 
rate of protection or at least to prevent the government 
from cutting it down too low. Modern thinkers on indus- 
trial questions are inclined to hold, however, that any business 
that cannot maintain safe and sanitary plants and pay 
decent wages is '^parasitic " ; that is, a prey upon the health 
and wealth of the community, and should be abandoned. 



Food, Clothing, and Shelter 17 

Enough has been said to show, at least, that the factory 
owner has a deep concern in the way the government is con- 
ducted. 

Owners who do not manage their factories. — And it should 
be noted that factory owners to-day are in quite a different 
position from what they were fifty years ago. Most great 
factories are now owned by companies or corporations in 
which many persons have joined in the common investment. 
Such factories are not conducted by those who own them, 
but by hired managers, whose business it is to see that the 
investors receive the interest and dividends on their capital 
regularly. There is a limit to the amount of wages that such 
managers can give for their first care is to pay the investors 
their interest and profits. If they do not do this, they 
are discharged for incompetency. In old days, when the 
owners of the factories actually managed them, they might 
have been willing in hard times to forego their profits 
and even the interest for a short period, in order to pay 
good wages and keep their employees busy. But the modern 
factory is a more *' heartless " affair, for its many owners 
may be scattered all over the world, and their chief concern 
usually is to get their interest and profits. This condition 
also puts a new problem before the government. 

The laborer's interest in industry. — Other aspects of , the 
factory system affect principally the laborer. The condi- 
tions under which the industry is carried on, the light and 
sanitation of workrooms, the use of unguarded, dangerous 
machinery, hours of work, wages, employment of women 
and children, — these and other matters affect the health, 
the leisure, the purchasing power, and the morals of the 
workers. According to the last census there were 6,615,000 
factory workers in the United States. 

Foreign labor in industry. — The garment and needle 
trades, moreover, employ mainly foreign men and women, 
so that any discussion of the clothing industry brings us 



1 8 American Citizenship 

to a consideration of the relation of the government to 
immigration. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of the 
factory and industrial wage workers of the United States 
are foreigners or immediate descendants of foreign-bom 
parents. 

The wages system. — With the factory system and the 
gpecialization in industry came perhaps the most funda- 
mental change of all — the enormous increase in the number 
of those who work for wages. In the days of agriculture 
and handicrafts, the producer (except in the slave states) 
was generally the owner of his own tools and the produce of 
his labor was his. He consumed part of it and exchanged 
the balance, usually by barter, for the commodities which 
he had to buy. To-day there are millions of wage workers 
in the United States and within a generation, at the present 
rate of increase, they will constitute a majority of all the 
people. That is, a vast number of men and women do not 
produce for themselves what they consume, but are paid in 
wages for their work ^nd are directly dependent for their 
livelihood upon the prosperity of the several industries in 
which they work. 

The capital and labor question. - — In older and simpler 
days, when agriculture was the chief occupation, the wages 
question was not very significant from the point of view of 
government. The farmer who owned his land took the prod- 
uce for his own and bought very little. But under the fac- 
tory system the perpetual question is : how much of the total 
product belongs to the laborer and how much to the owner 
of the tools? This question grows in importance as the 
number of industrial wageworkers increases, and it forces 
itself upon the government in many ways. It involves the 
right of working men and women to form unions, to strike 
for higher wages, shorter hours, and better conditions of 
labor, and to interfere with those who would take the jobs 
left by strikers. It has led to the formation of socialistic 



Food J Clothing, and Shelter 19 

parties which demand that the great industries should be 
owned and directed by the government. 

How the government becomes interested in housing. — • 
Even that other great human need — shelter — raises grave 
governmental questions. We can no longer live in caves; 
nor can we go out into the forests, cut down trees, and build 
rude huts. Our homes must be sanitary, well ventilated, 
of proper size, and secure from criminals and the vicious. 

The majority of people in cities do not own homes. — Those 
who are rich enough can settle the problem of shelter for 
themselves ; but the great mass of the inhabitants of our 
cities are too poor to command these necessary elements of 
proper shelter. The majority of them cannot own their 
homes. In Detroit, Michigan, only 22.5 per cent of the 
inhabitants owned their homes free of mortgage, and only 
39.1 per cent owned homes at all in 1900; and Detroit had 
more home owners than any other large city in the country at 
the time. In one assembly district in New York only four- 
teen out of 13,662 families owned their homes in 1900. 

Public regulation of housing. — In the cities, therefore, 
millions of people are dependent in a large measure upon 
circumstances beyond their personal control for the excel- 
lence of the shelter they enjoy. This leads to governmental 
interference in regulating the construction and management 
of tenements and rented houses, and also to some demand 
that American cities follow European examples in the con- 
struction of model houses for renters. The provision of 
proper shelter leads to other questions : the taxation of the 
land upon which houses are built ; car fare, sanitation and 
inspection, garbage disposal, water, fire protection, and a 
host of other matters which are governmental in character. 

Rural homes. — Unsatisfactory shelter is not confined to 
cities, moreover. In the country are often to be seen filthy 
and neglected houses. Sometimes one sees cases where the 
cattle are far better housed than the family. There is, 



20 American Citizenship 

however, in the country more family responsibility in the 
matter of shelter than in cities, where the vast majority of 
residents are renters. 

It is apparent from this brief review of the way in which 
the government may be employed in helping us secure the 
three great material needs of human life, — food, clothing, 
and shelter, — that civics should not be a '* lifeless " subject. 
On the contrary, it has the deepest interest for all who care 
for the welfare of themselves and the countless millions of 
their fellow-citizens. 



Questions 

• 1. What is the relation between food and the government ? 

2. What is the relation between clothing and the government ? 

3. What is the relation between shelter and the government ? 

4. What changes have taken place in our way of procuring 
these things since the days of our great-grandfathers? 

5. How have these changes affected the government ? 

6. What is meant by division of labor or specialization ? 

7. Tell all you know about the factory system of to-day. 

8. What is the owner's interest in that system ? 

9. What is the laborer's interest in it ? 

10. What is the consumer's interest in it ? 

11. How do we see these interests reflected in the government? 



Additional Reading 

Social Results of the Industrial Revolution : Beard, City 
Government, pp. 1-30. 

The Goal of Economic Endeavor : Burch and Nearing, Ele- 
ments of Economics, pp. 1-30. 

Changes in American Industry : Burch and Nearing, pp. 158- 
188. 



CHAPTER III 
THE FAMILY 

X Family life a community concern. 

1. Family life necessary to the proper rearing of children. 

2. Noble virtues cherished in the family. 

3. Family helps develop industrious citizens. 

4. How the outside world penetrates the home. 

5. Wages and the home. 

6. How the home affects the government. 
II. Many different kinds of homes. 

1. The home of the man who works at night or for long hours. 

2. Homes where mothers are breadwinners too. 

3. Homes where the mothers are the sole breadwinners. 

4. Homes where children are breadwinners. 

5. Homes which are tenement workshops. 

6. Homes of negroes. 

7. Homes of the poor whites. 

8. New public duties to the home. 

III. The home and government, 

IV. The rights and duties of parents and children under the law. 

1. New rights which the law gives to women. 

2. How the law goes into the home. 



Family life a community concern. — Food, clothing, and 
shelter are, as we have seen, needs common to all the people, 
and, in the struggle for these necessities of life, the govern- 
ment can aid in many ways. A wholesome family life is 
also a great human need and, although it may seem on first 
thought that the government has nothing to do with the 
home, a second thought will show that even the private 
life of a family cannot be lived wholly apart from the 
government. 

21 



2 2 American Citizenship 

Family life necessary to the proper rearing of children. — 
Love and affection between men and women and the care 
of little children are needs as old historically as protection 
from cold and hunger. In fact, the family is perhaps the 
oldest human institution or association of which we have a 
record. It is difficult to imagine little children being prop- 
erly cared for outside the family circle, although in excep- 
tional cases children are better off in public and private in- 
stitutions than with their parents. Family life is a deep hu- 
man need, because it is necessary for the rearing of children, 
without whom the communit}^ cannot go on at all. In- 
fants and growing boys and girls need the physical care 
and the love and sympathy of parents in order that they 
may get a good start ; for what people are in later life de- 
pends in a very large measure on the kind of childhood 
which they have. If parents bring up ignorant and diseased 
children, the community suffers from the loss of intelligent 
citizens, and may, in fact, have to support the children in alms- 
houses. It cannot be said, therefore, that the government, 
or rather the community, can be indifferent to the kind of 
family life which is maintained in its midst. On the other 
hand, the family should see to it that the government gives 
due attention to all of its requirements which are public in 
character. 

Noble virtues nourished in the family. — In the family are 
nourished many of the finest virtues upon which orderly 
community life depends. How deep and important are 
the ideals of fatherhood, motherhood, child life, affection, 
loyalty, care for the helpless, and unselfishness which de- 
velop wherever there is a wholesome family life! The 
family represents the first little group where the young and the 
old, the clever and the dull, the strong and the weak, learn to 
live together and to work together in harmony and affec- 
tion. Here the virtues of good citizenship are discovered, 
such as the knowledge that the act of one person may hurt 



The Family 23 

others, that overwork, whether on the part of parents or chil- 
dren, is harmful, that selfishness produces evil results, that 
the opinion of others should be listened to and studied. 
It is through the family that women who first loved only 
their own little children have grown to care for the welfare 
of all little children ; that women who have sacrificed and 
worked for their own children have learned to be interested 
in the struggles of all women to rear their children properly ; 
and that men with families of their own to work for have 
understood and respected the struggles of other men to main- 
tain proper homes. The community which the government 
serves is in many respects simply an enlarged family. 

The family helps develop) industrious citizens. — The family 
also furnishes a motive for men and women to work hard 
and live honorable lives. There are very few people who 
can, or who desire, to live and to work for themselves alone. 
The vast majority of adults work in order that they may 
take care of their families — their children, their wives or 
husbands, their old parents, their brothers or sisters. In 
nearly every family there are dependent persons — children, 
invalids, or aged persons ; and mothers, while rearing babies, 
find it hard to make a living by working out of the home, 
and usually depend, if possible, upon the earnings of the 
husband or the older children. 

How the outside world penetrates the home. — Not only do 
influences go out from the family to affect the character of 
the community and the government. The influences of the 
community penetrate deeply into the family, for members 
of the family have associations and work more or less outside 
of the walls of the home. The strongest and most obvious of 
these influences are the work which the members do to earn 
the living and the amount of the wages they are paid. 
If the work is dangerous, the breadwinner may be injured 
or even killed — as thousands are every year on railways, 
and in mines and factories. By such accidents happy homes 



24 American Citizenship 

are broken up and the members of the family are thrown 
into poverty. Diseases of all kinds, moreover, are con- 
nected with various industries : tuberculosis, for example, 
is contracted in insanitary clothing factories and mills and 
carried into the home. Then there are the moral influences 
surrounding the work of young and old in the places where 
they earn their living, and these may completely destroy all 
the good work of the careful mother in rearing her children. 

Wages and the home. — The amount of the family earnings 
is, of course, a matter of deep concern. It determines, within 
limits, the kind of house that is rented or built ; the amoimt 
and quality of the food that is consumed ; the opportunities 
for culture and enjoyment that are secured. If the family 
is unable to take care of itself, its members lose heart and 
often drift downward. If the family cannot provide for 
the sick and aged, they become public charges, and alms- 
houses and hospitals take the place of the home. While it 
is true that some families by thrift and intelligence may 
make smaller wages go farther than careless families can 
make higher wages go, it is nevertheless true that, taking 
things by and large, bigger wages mean more sanitary homes, 
more moral surroundings for the children, more oversight 
by the mother, and more chances to become wise and up- 
right men and women and citizens. 

How the home affects the government. — Thus in many ways 
the community affects the home and the home thus affected 
in turn influences the life of the community. Where wages 
are low and the home wretched, the members of the family 
take no pride in it and stay in it as little as possible. Hence 
comes the demand for intense excitement : flashy moving 
picture shows, dance halls, cheap and sensational theaters, 
and saloons. So vital a part of the home have modern amuse- 
ments become that social workers who know about the 
problem at first hand are insisting that city governments 
should make provision for public recreation on a large scale 



The Family 25 

and regulate closely all private amusement concerns. Here 
again the family comes into touch with the government. 

Many different kinds of homes. — The home is usually 
spoken of as if it were the same thing all over the country 
and in all sections of the community. The type of family 
which most of us have in mind and which is most commonly 
pictured as the '' average " home is one where the father 
earns a comfortable livelihood for all, where the mother 
assumes the responsibilities for the household, and where 
children are given an opportunity to go to school and to 
prepare themselves for more lucrative and less laborious 
positions than those held by their father. In this family 
the mother is supposed to concern herself solely with house- 
hold matters and perhaps a bit of charity or church work. 
The father is the purveyor of the collective wisdom of the 
home and establishes all of the serious connections of the 
home with the outside world. In the evening time when the 
work is done this family gathers around the center table to 
read or play simple games. 

Whether this is the best type of family we need not stop 
to discuss, but it is necessary to point out that there are so 
many variations from this type, particularly in our day of 
great cities and factories, that it is scarcely to be regarded 
as typical any longer. Indeed, it is only when we consider 
the various kinds of families which modern industry creates 
that we can understand the relation of the home to the 
community and the government. 

The home of the man who works at night or for long hours. — 
In the first place there is the family whose breadwinner is 
engaged in an industry that requires long hours or night 
work. This matter was recently discussed in New York 
during the controversy over a law reducing the number of 
hours which bakers could be employed in bake shops. It 
appeared that thousands of men were employed for twelve, 
fourteen, and even sixteen hours a day; that they had to 



26 American Citizenship 

rise early in the morning before the world was astir in order 
to bake and deliver the daily bread, and that many of them 
could not return home until long after the children were all 
abed. Some of the bakers declared that they would not 
know their own children if they should see them on the streets 
because they had never seen them except during sleep and by 
artificial light. The same theme was discussed in connection 
with the men employed in collecting garbage and ashes for the 
city of New York. Certain citizens thought that it was better 
and less troublesome to have the waste collected at night, and 
the experiment was tried. The workmen complained that 
when they had to stay up all night and sleep most of the day 
they could see nothing of their families, and that the house- 
hold was seriously disturbed because the mother had to give 
so much time to keeping the children quiet while the father 
slept. 

It may be said that such conditions are very unusual ; 
but there are tens of thousands of homes where the long 
hours and night work of the father prevent the close associa- 
tion of parent and children and make impossible those gather- 
ings around the fireside which are supposed to be a neces- 
sary part of typical home life. Just think for a moment of 
the number of bakers, miners, policemen, glass and steel 
workers in mills whose fires must be kept burning clay and 
night, railwaymen, train dispatchers, telegraph and tele- 
phone operators, and numerous other groups of working peo- 
ple whose conditions of employment and long hours make 
such family life impossible — unless the employees can, 
by organization, force a proper adjustment of hours and 
'' shifts," as they are called, or unless the government steps 
in and fixes the hours. This is a point where the govern- 
ment touches the home, and we shall take it up again in the 
third part of our book. 

Ho7nes where mothers are breadwinners. — Another varia- 
tion from the typical home where the father is the bread- 



The Family 27 

winner for all, is the home from which the mother is absent, 
helping to supplement the earnings of the father. Often 
the father cannot make enough money to support his family, 
let him work ever so hard ; and often he is unemployed 
through no fault of his own. The mother then must do 
laundry work by day and night, take in sewing, or go out 
to work in factories by day, or to scrub big office buildings 
at night. Where this is the case, the home suffers ; the little 
children must be left to care largely for themselves without 
proper food and attention. Where the mother is away 
working long hours, the food is sure to be hastily and poorly 
selected and prepared, and temptation to supplement the 
meals by liquor is very strong. 

We are not speaking now of a few exceptional homes, but 
of a very large number of homes. One out of every five of 
the industrial wage workers of the United States is a woman, 
and the proportion steadily increases. About one-third of 
the females over ten years of age in Philadelphia are engaged 
in gainful pursuits, and about one-eighth are in industries. 
We do not know exactly how many married women with 
children are compelled to work out of the home to help earn 
the living; but the number is certainly above a million. 
This means that at least a million homes are not that typical 
American home so fondly pictured by thoughtless orators. 

Homes where mothers are the sole breadwinners. — Another 
group of families is composed of those in which the mother 
is the sole breadwinner. The father is dead, or crippled by 
an accident in industry, or has deserted because he was 
shiftless or could not bear the strain of the struggle for exist- 
ence. Women are seldom paid as much as men, even for 
the same kind of work, and the mother who must bear all 
the burden can give little time to her children. While she 
is away from home, the oldest child usually assumes her 
place, and thus we have thousands of *' little mothers " 
and *' little fathers," as they are called, carrying about in 



28 American Citizenship 

their young arms their smaller brothers and sisters, cooking 
and cleaning, and growing old and bent before they become 
of age themselves. Often, in such cases, the home life is 
lost altogether, and the mother must place her children in 
institutions where she can seldom see them, to say nothing 
of giving them a mother's care, or she must give them to 
well-to-do people to be reared as their own. It is to remedy 
these grave evils that at least fourteen states have recently 
passed laws giving pensions to poor widows or other women 
with children so that they may maintain their homes. 

Homes where children are breadwinners. — We have other 
groups of families in which the little children, as well as the 
father and mother, are wage earners. Many things are 
done to-day by the fingers of very young children. They 
shuck oysters, string beans, paste labels, help make paper 
boxes, or " dip " chocolate drops. Other children, boys and 
girls in their early teens, work long hours in factories and 
stores. Where the members of the family work in mills and 
are separated during the day, they acquire different asso- 
ciates, and at night seek different amusements. Education 
is neglected, little bodies are often stunted by overwork, 
and children of tender years are brought into contact with 
the vices of the world during the early stages of their growth. 
This latter fact has led to some recent laws which prevent 
young messenger boys from being sent into vicious resorts 
at night. It is because criminals have often started on their 
careers of evildoing when they were very young that they are 
so hard to reform. 

Differences in family life are also frequently due to differ- 
ences in educational opportunities. Where children must 
leave school at an early age to go to work, it generally hap- 
pens that they never have a chance to make up the loss in 
training and are thus forced to drop behind more fortunate 
children who have no more native ability. Thus hterature 
and art may be shut out of their lives, and it is small wonder 



The Family 29 

that after they grow up their homes show the effect of this 
deep loss. 

Homes which are tenement workshops. — In the poorer 
quarters of our great cities we have still another type of 
home — the factory home — one in which petty industries 
of various kinds are carried on by all the members of the 
family, young and old. Here clothing is brought from the 
great factories to be finished, lace is made, some kinds of 
foodstuffs prepared for market, or willow plumes are tied. 
These tenement sweatshops, as they are called, shut out 
most of the joy and culture usually associated with the idea 
of a home. Home, to the members of such a family, is a 
sort of industrial prison. Usually the combined wages of the 
family are so low that they must eat, sleep, and work in the 
same room. Their inability to secure nourishing food, fresh 
air, and rest, develops all sorts of diseases which are disas- 
trous to the workers and sometimes spread to those who 
purchase the products of their labors. 

Here again the community suffers, and the government 
sometimes interferes by forbidding the labor of children 
under a certain age, by prohibiting home work save under 
certain conditions, and by regulating tenements. 

The homes of negroes. — The negro families, in their des- 
perate struggle upward from slavery, present still another 
type of family problem, and to them the government owes 
a special duty. For centuries, as slaves, they were accus- 
tomed to have no property of their own and to receive no 
wages — nothing beyond the bare necessities of life. Find- 
ing that hard work brought no reward, they naturally did as 
little work as they could when they were out from under 
the eye of the overseer. When the slaves were freed they 
could not throw off the habits of centuries. They were 
ignorant ; they had never received any education, save in 
rare instances ; and they were too bewildered to know what 
to do with themselves. Accustomed to live in wretched 



30 American Citizenship 

cabins on the plantations, the worst slums of the cities 
seemed not unpleasant by comparison. It is small wonder 
that they so frequently fail to see an opportunity when it 
is open to them, and fail to make the best of it when they 
try. So many negro mothers, moreover, must work outside 
their homes that they cannot, if they would, give their own 
children the care and attention that they need, or that they 
would like to bestow upon them. 

Homes of the "poor whites " in the mountains. — Although 
we have spoken of families in industrial cities principally, 
it must not be imagined that the families in rural districts 
are all alike. By no means. There is all the difference in 
the world between the family life of the prosperous farmer 
who lives near good roads and railways and schools and of the 
struggling farmer out of the way on rocky or muddy or moun- 
tain roads where the stream of travel, the telephone and rural 
delivery, never penetrate. There are thousands of families, 
particularly in the mountain regions, who live in rude shanties, 
from " hand to mouth," without comforts, without educa- 
tion, and without any of the modern refinements. 

New. public duties to the home. — The governments of our 
states are coming more and more to recognize also how great 
is the duty which the more enlightened parts of the com- 
munity owe to the backward parts in rural districts. Schools 
are being pushed away up into the mountain regions ; travel- 
ing libraries are being sent about ; roads are being built ; and 
mail is being carried to those who were, a few years ago, 
altogether out of touch with the big world. Public and 
private aid is being given to negroes to help them in becoming 
more intelligent and industrious citizens. Of this work we 
shall say more later. 

The home and government. — We have shown that the 
home has a vital connection with government, and that it 
must, of necessity, be considered in a work on civics. We 
have shown how great is the fallacy that all homes are 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee. 

A Little Mother 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee. 

A Home Factory 



The Family 31 

'^ typically American/* whatever that may mean, and also 
how great is the fallacy that the home life may be kept 
pure and ideal regardless of the kind of government which 
is maintained, or regardless of the ways of earning a liveli- 
hood which the commmiity offers to the members of the 
family. 

The rights and duties of parents and children under the 
law. — It is not only in connection with earning a liveli- 
hood and securing an education that the community and the 
government come into touch with the home. The govern- 
ment is interfering more and more with the powers and 
rights of husbands, wives, parents, and children in the homes. 
Under the common law, which prevailed in the old days in 
England and in many respects in the United States at the 
beginning of our independence, the very being or legal exist- 
ence of the woman was suspended during marriage, or at least 
was incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband. 
When the woman married, all of her personal property — 
clothes, jewels, furniture, and the like, became her husband's 
property absolutely, and he secured the right to manage her 
lands as he pleased in his own behalf. Married women 
could not make contracts, and thus could not engage in busi- 
ness for themselves. The husband could beat his wife, at 
least moderately, without public interference, and his word 
was law for the children under age. Divorces for brutality, 
drunkenness, crime, desertion, and such causes were not 
allowed. The idea of giving women generally an education 
at pubhc expense was deemed absurd, and the thought that 
women would ever have any share in making the laws 
through the acquisition of the right to vote was deemed 
preposterous beyond measure. The system of subjection is 
the one which prevails in China still. 

New rights which the law gives to women. — The old law 
concerning the power of the father has been severely modi- 
fied in our country, though remnants of the former domin- 



32 American Citizenship 

ion still exist in a few states, and the principle of woman 
suffrage is not universally accepted. Married women are 
now given the right to own and manage their own property ; 
they may make contracts and deeds; they may engage in 
business and the professions. Girls are educated in public 
schools even longer than the boys on the whole, and they 
are taught history and science and civics and other subjects 
that were once supposed to be mysteries which the mascu- 
line mind alone could grasp. In nine states women vote in 
all elections just as the men do ; Illinois allows them to vote 
for local officers and for President ; in a majority of stafces 
they take part in local and school elections ; and in nearly 
all of the states there is a strong demand for complete equal 
suffrage. The granting of divorces has been made easier — 
too easy, many contend ; and in many other ways the family 
life has been touched by law, particularly in the direction of 
greater equality between men and women. 

How the law goes into the home. — The law goes immediately 
into the home. In some states it seeks to prevent diseased 
persons from marrying and, in others, it permits the taking 
of children away from parents v/ho treat them in a cruel 
manner or do not provide decently for them. Compul- 
sory education forces parents to give their children some 
training at least. Children must support their aged parents 
if they are able. The separation of husband and wife may 
follow brutality and drunkenness and non-support. Parents 
are usually equal guardians of their children. Thus the 
government is attempting to lay the foundation for a reason- 
able and refined family life by providing that women shall 
be educated as well as the men, and that intelligent coopera- 
tion and the mutual respect of husband and wife shall be the 
basis of the family. The family bond which rested on the 
mere power of the father is loosened, and the community is 
striving to make a more secure bond by placing it on that 
right conduct which is the foundation of good citizenship. 



The Family • ^o 

Questions 

1. How does the government toueh the home ? 

2. How does the home affect society ? 

3. What changes have taken place in the attitude of society 
toward mothers ? Toward children ? 

4. What part should the father play in family life ? How does 
the government affect the part he can play ? 

5. Why is the family income an important matter ? 

6. What makes for culture or refinement in family life ? 

7. Why are there so many kinds of families in the United States ? 



Additional Reading 

Wage-eaening Children: Kelley, Some Ethical Gains through 
Legislation^ pp. 3-43. 

Child-labor : Burch and Nearing, Elements of Economics, pp. 
104-107. 

The Interstate Aspect of Child Labor : Kelley, pp. 58-99. 

The Relation of Leisure to Family Life : Kelley, pp. 105-125. 

The Relation of Unemployment to Family Life : Burch and 
Nearing, pp. 109-111. 

The Standard of Living : Burch and Nearing, pp. 31-444. 

Family Life in Cities: Beard, American City Government, pp. 
1-30. 

Family Life in the Country: Gillette, Constructive Rural Soci- 
ology, pp. 20-31. 



CHAPTER IV 
CIVIL LIBERTY 

I. The need for liberty. 
II. Two divisions of civil liberty. 
III. Civil liberty : its history and meaning. 

1. The common man formerly subject to arbitrary government. 

2. Civil liberty is won and kept only by heroic struggles. 

3. The American theory about civil liberty and constitutions. 

IV. Civil liberty : principles laid down in our constitutions. 

1. Certain civil rights which Congress cannot take away. 

2. Certain civil rights which the federal Constitution requires 

the states to uphold. 

3. Civil liberty as laid down in state constitutions. 

V. Civil liberty : personal security. 

1. New notions of civil liberty require more work of the 
government. 
VI. Civil liberty : personal freedom. 

1. Freedom of speech, assembly, and press. 
a. Free speech may be interfered with. 
h. Police permits and free speech. 

c. Civil liberty endangered by martial law. 

d.. Civil liberty endangered by intolerance. 

e. Freedom of thought and speech is a very precious right. 

/. Free speech does not give the right to slander others. 

2. Right to petition. 

o. The right of petition was won only after a hard struggle. 

3. Religious freedom. 

a. Religious persecutions in early days. 

b. Federal government and religious liberty. 

c. State constitutions and religious freedom. 

d. Religious tolerance necessary in politics. 

4. Right to proper treatment in case of arrest. 

a. The long contest for a fair trial. 

b. The writ of habeas corpus. 

34 



Civil Liberty 35 

c. Due process of law in trials of persons accused of crimes. 

d. Grand and petit juries. 

e. Granting bail. 

/. The work of the prosecuting attorney. 
g. The spirit and purpose of jury trials. 
h. Inequality before the law. 
i. How some inequalities may be avoided. 
j. Indeterminate sentences. 

5. The rights of children. 

a. The trials in children's courts. 

6, The new spirit of liberty for all persons. 



The need for liberty. — We have thus far spoken of four 
prime human needs in their relation to the community and 
government — food, clothing, shelter, and the family life. 
Now we have come to another need which is not absolutely 
indispensable to human life but is none the less valued by 
civilized peoples — the need for liberty and the pursuit of 
happiness. Indeed, so great has been the passion for this 
human right that men and women have been willing to sur- 
render everything, even their lives, to secure it. Men and 
women may exist without having any share in the govern- 
ment which rules them or without enjoying the right to go 
and come at will or to be free from arbitrary governmental 
interference, or without trial by jury and free press and free 
speech ; but there is no doubt a very vital connection in our 
time between these rights and the nature and work of the 
government. 

Two divisions of liberty : civil and political. — The subject 
of liberty is usually divided into two main divisions : civil 
and political. The former embraces those rights which are 
enjoyed by all citizens — the right to free press and speech, 
freedom of religious worship, property, jury trial, and the 
like. Political liberty, or the right to vote and hold office, 
is confined however to a section of the population. Although 
the two are thus separable in theory and in practice, there has 



36 American Citizenship 

been a close connection between them. Civil liberty in its 
widest sense has been secured only in those countries where 
political liberty is also enjoyed, and men of all Western 
countries would think their civil liberty seriously endangered 
were the ballot taken from them. 

Civil liberty : its history and meaning. — To understand 
what civil rights and civil liberty mean and how essential 
they are to every one's comfort and happiness, we must look 
back for a moment to the time when they were denied to the 
common people like ourselves. In former times, in England, 
the peasant — and a great majority of the people were 
peasants — was " rightless " ; that is, very much in the same 
position as the slave was in the United States before the 
Civil War. He could call no property his own absolutely; 
he could not marry without the consent of the lord on whose 
land he lived ; he was tried in the lord's court, if he committed 
an offense; he could not leave the land, for he was bound 
there by the law ; and when he died his children had to pay 
heavily for securing the right to continue in the old home. 

The common man formerly subject to arbitrary government. — 
The common man — and even the powerful noble sometimes 
— was not secure in his person or property. He had to pay 
any amount of taxes which the king pleased to levy. He 
might be thrown into prison, tortured, and even killed without 
having any reason given or without enjoying the right to a 
public trial and the benefit of witnesses in his behalf. You 
have seen pictures of the pillories and gloomy dungeons in 
which kings and nobles imprisoned the common people at 
will. If you will read your histories again, you will learn 
how men in olden times had their noses slit and their ears cut 
off for refusing to attend the church which the king and ruling 
classes maintained ; how money was wrung from toiling 
peasants and merchants to support idle courtiers in luxury 
and vice ; how the poor were killed in needless wars without 
having any voice at all in saying whether there should be 



Civil Liberty 37 

war; and how men were burned at the stake for teaching 
doctrines contrary to those accepted by the rulers. 

Civil liberty is won and kept only by heroic struggles. — As 
you realize how different a world we live in to-day, although 
it is still far from perfect in the development of civil liberty, 
you must understand that our rights were only won for us by 
the combined efforts of intelligent and fearless men and 
women who demanded that better laws be made to guarantee 
personal rights and that wiser and juster governments be 
established. But it would be a mistake to think that these 
rights are forever jBxed simply because they are written down 
in our federal and state constitutions. They depend, in fact, 
for their real enforcement upon the enlightened opinion of 
the community, upon the willingness of each to accord to 
those who differ from him the privileges which he demands 
for himself, upon sentiments of humanity and reasonableness, 
upon our firmness in upholding liberty as we are given to see 
it. To use a homely phrase, civil liberty cannot flourish 
save where there is a fine sense of fair play. 

The American theory about civil liberty and constitutions. — 
In the United States the theory has developed that the great 
principles of civil liberty should be written down in '^ consti- 
tutions" ; that is, in special documents describing the govern- 
ment and its powers, which cannot be very readily changed. 
We have a Constitution for the federal government, and each 
state has its own constitution. A constitution is made in a 
special manner, by a solemn convention of delegates chosen 
by the voters, and may be changed only by a system of amend- 
ment which requires a considerable time to operate (p. 97). 
The idea behind this is that certain great rights of life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness should not be changed 
easily, but only after thorough discussion and careful de- 
liberation. 

Principles of civil liberty laid down in our constitutions. — 
Having spoken of the general principles of civil liberty, let us 



38 American Citizenship 

consider the details. If you would find the written words 
which describe our civil rights, you must turn to our federal 
and state constitutions. The federal Constitution mentions 
two classes of civil rights : (a) those which the federal govern- 
ment itself cannot take away or deny, and {h) those which 
the state governments cannot take away or deny. The 
state constitution enumerates those rights which the state 
government cannot take away or deny. It is absolutely 
necessary for us to keep very clearly in mind these two 
sources of civil liberty, for more confusion exists on this 
subject than on almost any other matter concerning 
government. 

Certain civil rights which Congress cannot take away. — 
Those rights of freedom of press, speech, and religious worship 
so often mentioned as being guaranteed to all by the federal 
Constitution, are, in fact, only guaranteed to us against 
the federal Congress itself (p. 38). The federal Constitu- 
tion does not require the state to give these three rights to 
its citizens, and the federal government cannot interfere if the 
state denies or abridges them. The federal Constitution also 
declares that persons tried in federal courts shall have the 
right to indictment by a grand jury and to trial by jury, that 
the federal officers shall not quarter soldiers in the homes of 
the people, that the federal officers shall not enter private 
houses to make unreasonable searches and seizures, and that 
federal judges shall not impose excessive fines and cruel and 
unusual punishments. 

Certain civil rights which the federal Constitution requires 
the states to uphold. — In addition to guaranteeing us specific 
rights against the federal government, the federal Constitu- 
tion also lays down certain principles upon which the state 
governments shall not trespass (pp. 316, 323). The most 
important of these principles are enunciated in the Four- 
teenth Amendment, which says that ''no state shall make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immu- 



Civil Liberty 39 

nities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any state 
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due 
process of law ; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws." This is of course a very 
general statement, and its meaning depends almost entirely 
on the way in which the Supreme Court of the United States 
interprets it. Of this we shall speak more at length below 
(p. 48). 

Civil liberty as laid down in state constitutions. — It is, how- 
ever, mainly the state constitution and state government 
to which the citizen must look for the source of his civil 
rights. Some state constitutions go farther along this line 
than others ; but the rights which are commonly enjoyed in 
ordinary daily life fall under three heads : (1) those which 
relate to personal security ; (2) those which relate to personal 
liberty ; and (3) those which relate to the personal ownership 
and enjoyment of property. These we shall examine one by 
one. 

Civil liberty : personal security. — By personal security 
we mean the protection of life and health and body. We all 
claim to-day the right to be protected from burglars, criminals, 
the insane, the diseased, from dangerous machinery, speeding 
automobiles, from dynamite and other explosives carried 
through the streets, and from offensive nuisances, in order 
that we may live. We cannot individually protect our- 
selves from all these things which imperil life and disturb 
our comfort, because it would take all of our time to be on 
the watchout for dangers. We therefore demand that the 
government see to these things for us, and we appropriate 
money for this purpose — for firemen, policemen, hospitals, 
public inspectors, and street cleaners. We say that a govern- 
ment is good and efficient and true to public interest just in 
proportion as it succeeds in protecting the lives and com- 
fort and convenience of its citizens while they are busy with 
their daily occupations. 



40 American Citizenship 

New notions of personal security require more work of the 
government. — We are expecting more and more of the gov- 
ernment in guaranteeing personal security. We demand se- 
curity for little babies by requiring city boards of health to 
guard the purity of the milk which is brought from the 
dairies. Playgrounds are being established to keep yoimg 
children from getting hurt in the streets and to promote 
their health and comfort. People who live in the country are 
themselves largely responsible if they do not have fresh air, 
pure water and milk, and room to play ; but in the cities we 
must call in the service of the government to help maintain 
the securities so necessary to life. Even in the country, health 
officers are needed to see that milk is clean and cattle not 
diseased. Elevators in high buildings are inspected, in order 
to prevent accidents, dangerous machinery in factories must 
be safeguarded, mines must be ventilated so that horrible 
explosions may not occur, water supplies must be purified, 
and so on throughout a long list of governmental activities 
in behalf of personal security. Much of the work that is done 
in this regard is crude and inadequate, but as the community 
grows in intelligence it demands an ever wiser and ever 
more efficient service from the government in the work of 
•safeguarding life and limb. 

Civil liberty : personal liberty. — Personal liberty is dif- 
^ferent from personal security. Personal security means 
simply the right to live in safety and comfort, as far as pos- 
sible ; personal liberty means the right to do things. Some- 
times one right seems very much like the other; you may 
think that a right like that of trial by jury belongs under 
both heads, and there is some reason for this view. 

Personal liberty is of two kinds, but in this chapter we shall 
only discuss the first kind, which includes the right to say 
what one wishes, known as the right of free speech, assembly, 
and press; the right to freedom of religious worship; the 
right to petition the government to remedy wrongs ; and the 



Civil Liberty 41 

right to proper treatment by the police and the courts in case 
of arrest. The second kind of personal liberty has to do with 
property rights, and those we shall take up in the next chapter, 
because they are important enough to deserve separate treat- 
ment. 

Freedom of speech, assembly, and press. — When you read in 
the papers about disturbances in Germany or Russia you 
often learn that men are arrested and imprisoned or fined for 
saying things that are unpleasant to the rulers. In the United 
States, however, we are constantly reading and hearing the 
most bitter denunciation of our public officers, and very fre- 
quently they are openly charged with being downright 
dishonest. No one thinks of arresting and fining a citizen 
because he calls a mayor ugly names or declares that he 
should be put out of office because he is a wrongdoer. In 
Russia it is necessary for publishers of books and papers to 
submit them to official censors before sending them out, and 
often books and papers are suppressed altogether because 
they are displeasing to the government. 

(a) Free speech may be interfered with. — Americans often 
boast of the freedom which exists in this country as if it were 
absolute ; that is, as if there never were any interference with 
speech, meetings, and press. This is not altogether true. 
Men may be lawfully arrested for making speeches which 
incite others to riot and violence. In times of strikes and 
disorders it is hard to draw the line between speeches and 
publications which are " legitimate " and those which stir 
up rioting. It is difl&cult for the leaders of working men 
and women striking for higher wages and better hours 
to keep up the spirits of the rank and file without dis- 
cussing their grievances and wrongs in a vigorous manner, 
and it is for the police and judges to say when they have 
" incited to violence." Thus local and state officers may 
easily, and often do, suppress free speech and press under 
the mere guise of preventing public disorder. 



42 American Citizenship 

(b) Police permits and free speech. — There is another way 
in which free speech and assembly may be interfered with 
by the government. In toAvns and cities many meetings are 
held on the street corners and in the parks, and large crowds 
may block traffic and hinder people going about their business. 
Moreover, where crowds gather on the streets and in halls 
it is necessary to have special police protection to prevent 
disturbances. It is customary, therefore, to require speakers, 
particularly in the streets, to obtain police permits. While 
these permits are generally freely given, public officers who 
dislike the beliefs of the applicants may very easily refuse 
permission on grounds of " public convenience" and in fact 
often do so. 

(c) Civil liberty endangered by " martial law." — There is 
still a third way that free speech may be disturbed. In 
times of serious troubles '^martial law" is frequently declared ; 
that is, the ordinary government is set aside and all power 
put into the hands of soldiers. This happened in 1912 in 
one of the states during a strike of miners when labor leaders 
were shut up in prison, on the order of military officers, for 
making speeches, and the newspapers published for the 
miners were seized and the printing presses broken up. 
The United States Senate sent a special commission of its 
own members to investigate the charges of violation of civil 
liberty by the governor and other officials. It is therefore 
incorrect to say that freedom of press, speech, and meeting 
is absolute and cannot be interfered with by the government. 

(d) Civil liberty endangered by intolerance. — There is yet 
a fourth way in which this great right may be infringed 
not by the government, but by mobs unwilling to give other 
people the right to expound their ideas. Free speech and 
press naturally lead to a general criticism of everything — the 
government and its officers, the schools, churches, family life, 
the rich and powerful. Those who want to write and speak 
freely themselves very frequently do not want to give the 



Civil Liberty 43 

same right to others who hold different opinions. Before the 
Civil War those who criticized slavery even in the North were 
occasionally beaten and their meetings were often broken up 
by their enemies. Sometimes their newspaper presses were 
seized and destroyed, and there were a few cases in which 
men were killed for advocating that great reform. Instances 
of such intolerance are not wanting in our day. 

(e) Freedom of thought and speech is a very precious right. 
— Notwithstanding the abuses often connected with free press, 
speech, and meeting, this is one of our most valued rights and 
we should always be on our guard against denying to others 
the right we claim for ourselves, although their opinions are 
distasteful and seem very dangerous to us. We can only im- 
prove our morals, our government, and our ways of living 
by constant examination and criticism. The very essence 
of democracy is government by public opinion, after full and 
free discussion, and it is a serious thing for any set of men 
and women to decide what shall be said on all occasions by 
everybody else. On the other hand, while claiming freedom 
of speech, we should at the same time remember that that 
freedom carries with it the obligation to show the proper 
respect for the rights and opinions of others, and always to 
present our own views with a due regard for the feelings 
of others. 

(/) Free speech does not give the right to slander others. — 
It is particularly unfair for any one to attack by speech or 
publication the character of another with evil intent, or to 
endeavor to injure another by false and evil charges and slan- 
derous statements. The law provides that any person who 
is so slandered may bring suit for damages to his character. 
For example, a New York paper not long ago said that a 
prominent and respectable woman had been arrested and 
imprisoned for stealing when there was not a word of truth 
in the statement. The woman brought suit, forced the paper 
to retract the false statement, and pay heavy damages be- 



44 American Citizenship 

sides. There are also laws against printing fraudulent ad- 
vertisements and indecent articles which might corrupt the 
morals of the people. Here, too, there is great danger of 
tyranny on the part of the government, and public sentiment 
should hold the public officers in restraint. 

The right to 'petition. — When in early days the people rep- 
resented in the English Parliament consented to be taxed, 
they won in return the right to petition the king for a redress 
of grievances. This old right has grown into a broad general 
right to petition the government on any subject and it 
is particularly precious to those who do not have the right 
to vote, because it is the only way they can make their 
voices heard directly in the government. This is almost the 
only way that women, outside of those states where they 
enjoy the right to share in choosing representatives to make 
laws and in choosing officers, may bring their views on taxa- 
tion, lawmaking, and other matters immediately to the 
attention of the government. This right is also precious to 
minorities who may protest by petition against the action of 
majorities and demand a recognition of their claims. 

(a) The right of petition was won only after a hard 
struggle. — This right of petition seems such a simple and 
natural one and is so widely used in the United States that we 
are apt to forget that it was a long age before the common 
people were allowed to tell the government their grievances. 
You may have read how in England men were formerly pub- 
licly whipped at the cart tail or imprisoned for daring to 
suggest by petition that everything was not correctly and 
wisely done by the king and his officers. In Russia in our 
day, a soldier was sentenced to prison for life for daring to 
hand the Tsar a petition. It was a great privilege that was 
won therefore when the right of petition was secured, al- 
though it does not seem as important to those who can vote. 

Religious freedom. — When governments were first es- 
tablished in the American colonies, there was a great variety 



Civil Liberty 45 

of religious beliefs. In New England there were Puritans 
and Congregationalists ; in New York the Anglicans and 
Dutch Protestants predominated; Pennsylvania had its 
Quakers, Maryland its Catholics, and the South its Anglicans 
and Presbyterians. Added to these elements were some 
French Huguenots. It was obviously impossible for any 
one sect in the midst of this great diversity to rule all the 
others ; but in spite of the fact that many of them came to 
America to secure freedom of religious worship, there was 
no little religious persecution at first. 

(a) Rehgious persecutions in early days. — Quakers were 
driven out of Massachusetts; Jews were discriminated 
against by law in New York ; the established Church of Eng- 
land ruled with a high hand in Virginia ; and in South Carolina 
the Catholics were treated harshly. Many of these religious 
discriminations remained long after the establishment of 
Independence, and indeed some reUcs of the older days are 
still to be found in the laws of several states. 

(6) The federal government and rehgious Uberty. — When 
it came, however, to the estabhshment of the Constitution 
of the United States it was clearly impossible to place one sect 
above another, even if any one had thought of it ; and each 
sect, anxious for its own rights, was willing to concede similar 
rights to others. Hence it came about that Congress was 
forbidden by the first amendment to the Constitution to make 
any law respecting the estabhshment of rehgion or the free 
exercise thereof (p. 321). The most serious religious prob- 
lem which the federal government has had to solve was that 
presented by the Mormons of Utah. They claimed that 
the right of a man to have more than one wife was a part of 
their rehgious hberty, for it had the sanction of the Old Testa- 
ment. Other citizens claimed that this custom was a menace 
to morals, and Congress by law prohibited polygamy. The 
government thus interfered mth what was claimed to be a 
phase of religious freedom, but it did so on the ground that 



46 American Citizenship 

there was a difference between religion and marriage customs 
claiming religious sanction. 

(c) State constitutions and religious freedom. — Our state 
constitutions now follow the example of the federal Constitu- 
tion and guarantee religious freedom to the citizens of the 
respective states. Generally speaking, therefore, we now 
have religious freedom in the United States ; that is, each 
person may belong to the church of his choice or to no church 
at all ; he may vote and hold office regardless of his religious 
beliefs, although in a few states those who do not believe in 
God are excluded from officeholding; and he is not com- 
pelled to pay taxes to support any church. 

{d) Religious tolerance necessary in politics. — Notwith- 
standing this extensive religious toleration and freedom, 
religious feeling is strong in the United States, and it enters 
into politics more or less. Often the Protestants are stirred 
up because the Catholics seem to enjoy too much political 
influence in elections, and Catholics sometimes claim that 
they are discriminated against in appointments to public 
offices. Appeals are frequently made in elections for the 
voters to support this or that candidate on account of his 
church affiliations. All the sects join in deploring the 
growth of free thought or infidelity, and in some cities there is 
more or less antagonism to the public schools on the ground 
that no religious creeds are taught there. The various sects 
are unable to agree on the fundamentals of Christianity which 
should be taught in the schools, and the Jews, who are so 
numerous in the great cities, do not want any religious cere- 
monies savoring of Christianity in the schools, so that there is 
little possibility of any sect securing entire control of them. 
Moreover, the spirit of tolerance and fair play is stronger than 
ever before, and is nourished by all right-minded persons. 

The right to proper treatment in case of arrest. — In every 
community there are persons who infringe on the rights of 
others as deffiied by law, and the public must protect itself 



Civil Liberty 47 

against the dishonest and the criminals. Nevertheless, those 
who commit crimes have their rights also, and it is very im- 
portant that they should be carefully safeguarded ; for 
arbitrary action on the part of policemen and courts may 
involve any person too seriously for a trivial offense. The 
power to punish others is a dangerous power, and fair trials 
and publicity should be provided, and cruel and unjust pun- 
ishment prevented. 

(a) The long contest for a fair trial. — The struggle for a 
fair trial dates from early days in England, before our country 
was settled, when the king's officers seized at pleasure the 
persons against whom they had a grudge, maltreated them 
if they chose, and hanged or imprisoned them without public 
trial. It was a common custom to seize persons against 
whom the king had a grievance and hold them in prison in- 
definitely. This evil practice led finally to the establishment 
of the right to the writ of habeas corpus, sl right which con- 
tributed so much to human liberty that it was put into our 
federal Constitution (p. 316) and our state constitutions, and 
remains one of the most valued rights to-day. The reason 
for the high esteem in which it is held is that it helps to pre- 
vent malicious imprisonment without trial and without in- 
forming the prisoner of the exact charges against him. 

(6) The writ of habeas corpus. — The term habeas corpus 
comes from the Latin words used in the original writ as 
issued by the courts to the officer holding a prisoner. It 
means " you shall have the body," and is a part of the order 
directing the sheriff or jailer to bring the prisoner before 
the court for a preliminary examination. This writ must 
be issued on request of the prisoner or his attorney, except 
in times of rebellion and disorder when military rule is in 
force. When a person secures the writ of habeas corpus he 
is brought before a judge, and if on inquiry into the facts of 
the arrest the judge thinks the prisoner unlawfully held, he 
sets him free. If, however, the judge finds that there is 



48 American Citizenship 

sufficient reason for thinking the prisoner guilty of the charge, 
he sends him back to jail, or lets him out on bail if satisfactory- 
security can be found as a guarantee that he will appear at 
trial when the day comes. This examination enables every 
prisoner to know at once why he is held and prevents officers 
from keeping people in prison without warrant. 

(c) Due process of law in trials of persons accused of 
crimes. — The next step in the proper treatment of an 
arrested person is to secure '' due process of law," for the 
Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person 
shall be deprived of his life or liberty without it (below, 
p. 323). Although ''due process of law" does not mean 
exactly the same in every state, it always includes certain 
general practices. It means (1) that a person accused of a 
serious offense must first be indicted by a grand jury and then 
tried by a petit jury ; (2) that an acquitted person shall not be 
tried again for the same offense; (3) that no person shall 
be compelled to testify against himself ; (4) that the accused 
must be brought face to face with the witnesses against him, 
must have the power to compel witnesses in his behalf to 
come into court to testify, and shall enjoy the right to have 
an attorney in his interest ; (5) and that excessive bail shall 
not be asked, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishment inflicted. 

{d) The grand and petit juries, — All this is probably easy 
to understand except the terms '' grand jury," '' petit jury," 
and " bail." A grand (or big) jury is sometimes composed 
of twenty-four persons (although often of fewer), while the 
petit (pronounced '' petty," from the French word meaning 
'' little ") jury usually has only twelve members. The 
grand jury examines the charges against a prisoner, and if a 
majority of the members believe that there is enough evidence 
to warrant a trial of the accused, a '' bill of indictment " is 
found against him ; and the case is then tried before a judge 
and little jury. The little jury hears evidence for, as well 



Civil Liberty 49 

as against, the accused, and if all the members think him 
guilty of the crime charged they return a verdict of guilty. 
In some states, it is not necessary to have a unanimous 
verdict in order to convict for a small offense. 

(e) Granting bail. — Bail means the money or property put 
up as a guarantee that the prisoner will not run away if he 
is let out of jail after his arrest and allowed to remain out 
until he is tried and found guilty by the regular court.i 
While this is of great advantage to those who are well-to-do 
or have friends with property, the poor and friendless cannot 
enjoy this right, and often innocent persons are held m prison 
a long period awaiting trial, to their great loss in time and 
wages. In some places, judges are adopting the practice 
of letting arrested persons out on parole — on their honor — 
in order to spare them the sorrow and waste of time of lying 

in jail until trial. 

(/) The work of the prosecuting attorney. — We have 
said that for serious offenses the accused must be indicted 
by a grand jury. In minor offenses, of course, this is not 
necessary, for the county attorney or prosecutor may bring 
the chatges in such cases, and in cities the poUceman making 
the arrest brings the charges. In a few states, California for 
example, the grand jury may be done away with even m 
murder cases, and the charges may thus be brought by the 
prosecutor without the delays incident to tedious hearings 
before the grand jury. In large cities also where there are 
so many crimes, the grand jury tends to become a mere for- 
mal body which accepts the declarations of the prosecutor 
as to the guilt of the accused without any careful examina- 
tion, and does not press any cases which the prosecutor has 
not already suggested and prepared. 

(g) The spirit and purpose of jury trials. — This doing 
away with the grand jury is not without danger. The aim 
of both juries is to draw into the trial of accused persons 

iBail is not allowed in cases of murder. 
B 



50 American Citizenship 

citizens who are not officers of the government, who are 
neighbors of the accused, and who are not sticklers for the 
pett}^ rules of the law, in order that common sense and common 
humanity may be brought into the indictment and trial 
of criminals. But even the jury is not without its draw- 
backs. If the jury is composed of persons who are in sym- 
pathy with the deeds of the accused, as is sometimes the case 
in lawless regions, it is difficult to secure conviction when 
the evidence is clear. If the jury is composed of a different 
class of persons who do not know about the difficulties and 
obstacles in the way of the accused it may be too harsh in 
its judgment. Moreover, except in those states which have 
woman suffrage, the actions of women and children are 
judged entirely by men. This is, of course, an ancient cus- 
tom, but in our time many women are objecting to this one- 
sided arrangement, and they claim that women should have 
at least some voice in the courts where they are tried. In 
the West, therefore, women have been accepting jury duty 
cheerfully and they have been called upon in numerous 
instances to perform it. 

{h) Inequality before the law. — As time goes on we 
aevelop new notions of humanity and justice in trials and in 
the treatment of prisoners, and discover new objections to 
old customs. For example, we speak with pride of '^ equality 
before the law," which means that the same penalty shall be 
imposed for the same offense no matter by whom committed, 
whether rich or poor, workman or capitalist, saloon keeper 
or clergyman. But it does not require much intelligence 
to discover that this principle is not realized in practice. 
The poor man particularly is always at a disadvantage, for 
he cannot employ skilled lawyers, such as the rich can, to 
outwit and baffle the judge and jury. The poor man cannot 
give bail when he is arrested and must remain in prison, 
whether guilty or innocent, until trial. Again, if a fine is 
imposed for an offense, the rich man can pay it without any 



Civil Liberty 51 

trouble, while the poor man often goes to jail for a long time. 
Though we do not have imprisonment for debt in theory, 
we do in fact, because the poor man who cannot pay his 
fine to the government in money must pay it by lying in 
prison. The rich man may appeal to the higher courts if 
convicted in the lower court and drag on the case for years, 
wearing out the judges and prosecutors, until they may be 
glad to dismiss the matter altogether. 

ii) How some inequalities may be avoided. — In order 
that the poor may not be wholly without assistance, courts 
appoint attorneys to defend them when they are arrested, 
but the payment for this service is usually small and the 
best lawyers generally cannot be secured. The problem of 
the poor man and bail can be partially solved by speeding 
up the courts so that arrested persons need not stay in jail 
a long time before trial and by extending the parole system 
whereby persons accused of minor offenses may be let out 
on their honor or on the pledge of a friend until trial. The 
problem of fines and the poor is difficult, but there are deter- 
mined efforts to do away with the cruel system of putting 
poor men in jail for months for petty offenses, and thus depriv- 
ing them and their families of their wages and support mean- 
time. An Indianapolis judge recently adopted the practice 
of letting persons who are fined in his court pay the fine in 
small installments, providing they pledge their honor. He 
finds by experience that nearly every one who has been given 
this privilege keeps his pledge sacredly and that the city is 
saved a great deal of money in the cost of keeping idle pris- 
oners in jail. Another inequality arises from the practice of 
having only men as judges over all cases which involve 
women prisoners. In some cities this is being rectified by 
the appointment of women as police judges. 

(j) Indeterminate sentences. — The rights of the prisoner 
convicted of an offense are now receiving more attention 
than ever. A few states have abolished the death sentence 



$2 American Citizenship 

for murder. Some states have adopted what is known as 
the indeterminate sentence; that is, the convicted man is 
not sent to prison for a definite term of years, but for a period 
ranging between certain years, and he is let out early if his 
conduct is good, and may remain out as long as he behaves 
himseK. Other states are attempting to give the prisoners 
useful work to do, and some are paying the men wages for 
the benefit of their families. 

The rights of children. ■■ — You may not know that children 
are arrested in large numbers, especially in the big cities, 
but this is unfortunately true. Not many years ago little 
children were treated like adults in the courts, thrown into 
jail with old and hardened criminals only to learn more 
crimes, and sentenced to severe punishments, even death. 
There is now developing a new theory about the rights of 
children before the law. Separate courts, known as juvenile 
courts, for the trial of children's cases, are springing up all 
over the country, and the practice of throwing children into 
the regular prisons is being abandoned. 

(a) Trials in children's courts. — The judge in the juvenile 
court is expected to have very special qualifications. There 
is no jury trial in this court, for it is thought better to intrust 
the cases of children to an intelligent and sympathetic judge 
than to juries made up of persons selected by chance. Thus 
the child is given a better opportunity to state his case and 
to have a fair hearing. More and more, the trial resolves 
itself into these questions : " What made this boy or girl go 
wrong? What kind of home does the child have? Who 
will be responsible for his future good conduct? " Prison 
sentences are rarely imposed. Children are let out on pro- 
bation under the superintendence of probation officers who 
look after them, or of '' big brothers " or " big sisters," as 
they are called. 

The new spirit of liberty for all persons. — If we study 
carefully the growth of the idea of human rights, we find that 



Civil Liberty 53 

we are trying to write into the law an ever greater respect 
and regard for the individual person. We are seeking to give 
him a better chance to develop his own life in the way he sees 
fit so long as he does not injure his neighbors ; and when he 
goes wrong we try not to think of revenge as much as of 
repairing the wrong and restoring the wrongdoer to a proper 
life. It is the deep sense of fair play, and of regard for the 
rights of others, which makes orderly and progressive govern- 
ment possible. This we should cherish even as we prize our 
own rights, for he who attacks the personal rights of others, 
rather than enlarges them, paves the way for the destruction 
of his own. 

Questions 

1. What are the recognized forms of civil Hberty? 

2. What are some of the Hmits to free speech, if there be such ? 

3. Why is it desirable to have a free press ? 

4. What is meant by the terms grand jury, petit jury, bail, 
due process of law, habeas corpus, probation, parole, libel ? 

5. What is the purpose of a juvenile court ? 

6. What is the relation between food, clothing, shelter, family 
needs, and civil liberty ? 

7. When can a jury be said to be impartial ? 

8. Why is equality of rich and poor before the law difficult ? 



Additional Reading 

The Rights and Immunities op Citizenship : Kaye, Readings in 

Civil Government^ pp. 94-110. 
Jury Trials : Beard, American Government and Politics, pp. 87, 

448, 549, 564, 572. 
Freedom op Speech : Bryce, The American Commonwealth, Vol. II, 

p. 353. 
Religion in the United States ; Bryce, Vol, II, pp. 763-794. 



CHAPTER V 



PROPERTY RIGHTS 



I. Safeguarding property rights by constitutions, 

1. Four rules designed to secure the rights of property owners. 

2. Additional ways in which the federal Constitution protects 

property. 

3. Indirect way of taking private property by the government. 
. 4. The property owner's right to protection. 

How property rights change from age to age. 

1. Property rights in slaves. 

2. Married women's property rights. 

3. Changes in notions about public property. 
What shall be public property ? 

1. Our state and national governments are now large property 
owners. 

2. The federal government as a business manager. 
How the use of private property is limited. 
The rights of property in labor. 

1. Interference with freedom to labor as one pleases. 

2. How the government is involved in labor unions. 

3. Government regulation of the rights of labor. 
General tendencies in property rights. 



II. 



III. 



IV. 
V. 



VI. 



Safeguarding property rights by constitutions. — Although 
we speak of property rights as distinct from human rights, 
they are not so in fact. A property right is a human right 
to use and enjoy material things necessary to life — houses, 
clothes, food, land, wages, and so on. Property rights also 
have to do with ways of securing food, clothing, and shelter. 
They underlie all other rights, for without property of some 
kind one cannot live at all. Property rights are, therefore, 
sacred rights in all times and places. It is plain that if rights 

54 



Property Rights 55 

in property were not defined, respected, and enforced, that 
if no one could call anything his own, and every one were 
permitted to grab all he could and keep everything he could 
get his hands on, life would be a perpetual scramble and 
no person would be safe. But the kinds of property rights 
and the ways in which property may be used, vary greatly 
from age to age. 

Four rules designed to secure the rights of property owners. 
— To safeguard property rights certain principles are laid 
down in our state and federal constitutions. These are in 
general as follows : (1) private property may not be taken 
from one person by the government and given to another; 
(2) private property cannot be taken directly by the govern- 
ment without paying the owner a reasonable price ; (3) when 
private property is taken from a person, due process of law 
must be followed ; that is, the owner shall have a right to 
protest or state his viev^^s on the matter and the value shall 
be fairly appraised ; (4) the use of lawful property cannot 
be restricted in such a way as to destroy or seriously reduce its 
value to the owner. 

Additional ways in which the federal Constitution protects 
property. — The federal Constitution contains these provi- 
sions about property, and some others in addition. It says 
that no state shall impair the obligation of contract. This 
is a very technical matter which is hard to understand ; but 
it is important, particularly in one aspect. It prevents 
a state government from destroying a charter or a franchise 
granted to a company or corporation, unless the right to repeal 
or abridge has been specially reserved by the state. Many 
charters and rights granted in esbrly days by the states are 
perpetual because no reservation of the right to repeal was 
made. The federal Constitution also says that no state 
shall emit bills of credit ; that is, make paper money. This 
clause grew out of the early practice of the states in issuing 
such large quantities of paper money that no person could 



56 American Citizenship 

ever be sure what the value of a dollar was. For example, 
during the Revolution, a pound of brown sugar in Virginia 
was worth eleven dollars and a yard of linen seventy-five 
dollars. The utmost confusion reigned until this clause 
was put into effect with the adoption of our Constitution 
so that a uniform monetary system might be established. 

Indirect way of taking private property by the government. 
— There is, however, an indirect way in which the state or 
national government may take private property without 
pajdng for it ; that is, by taxation — income and inheritance 
taxes, taxes on land, customs duties, and the like that are 
used for the support of the government and for the promo- 
tion of public welfare. Indeed, there are many people who 
hold that there should be heavy inheritance and income 
taxes for the purpose of helping to equalize the rich and poor. 
This means that a great deal should be taken from the rich 
and used for the general welfare — for schools, parks, roads, 
hospitals, and other public institutions. In fact, we now 
have a federal income tax, and many states have inheritance 
and income taxes, but they are designed to raise revenues 
rather than to equalize wealth. 

The property . ownefs right to protection. — In addition to 
the constitutional safeguards against government interfer- 
ence with property rights, there are certain rights of pro- 
tection which the possessors of property have. They enjoy 
protection from thieves and burglars by the agents of the 
government, — the police. They enjoy fire protection in 
the cities, for the fire departments do not charge the citizen 
directly for putting out a fire in his house or place of business. 
They enjoy protection against other persons who would 
maintain nuisances near by, such as slaughter houses. They 
enjoy the right to go into the courts and sue for the recovery 
of property unlawfully taken from them or to secure prop- 
erty which is unlawfully withheld from them. 

These are the most important rights of property in the 



Property Rights 57 

strict sense; but this does not mean that an owner of prop- 
erty may do exactly as he pleases with his own possessions 
or that great changes are not being made in the rights of 

property. t ^ ^ 

How property rights change from age to age. — Indeed, 
the ways in which people may acquire property and the ways 
in which they may use what they have acquired have changed 
wonderfully during the course of human events, just as have 
the personal rights which we described above. In England, 
for example, a long time ago, all the land was owned by the 
king, and every inch of it was held from him. The great 
lords to whom he intrusted the land, sublet it to small lords, 
and they in turn had under them serfs who were, as we have 
seen rightless. The poor peasant, save in rare cases, could 
not get possession of a piece of land to call his own and even 
to-day England is owned principally by great landlords, 
whose ancestors shook off the kings' ownership of the land 
and acquired an absolute right to it. In time however, 
it became possible for any person with money to buy a piece 
of land and call it his own. 

Proverty rights in slaves. — In our own country there have 
been many changes in notions about property rights. For 
example, colored people were once considered as private 
property, and slave owners had a constitutional right to use 
this human property in their own way — to buy and sell 
men and women and children and take from them the results 
of their labors. It took the Civil War to destroy this notion 
about property rights, and now we have written m the Con- 
stitution that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall 
exist in the United States. 

Married women's property rights. — As we have seen, also, 
married women formerly had no property rights, but were 
subject in all such matters to their husbands (p. 31). It 
the woman worked for wages, her husband could go to her 
employer and collect her earnings and spend them as he 



58 American Citizenship 

pleased, just as the slave owner could take the product 
from his black servants. But this right of the married 
man over his wife's property has been destroyed in nearly 
every state, and women are put on an equality with their 
husbands in such matters. 

Changes in notions about public property. — Just as we 
have said that no human being shall be the property of an- 
other, so we are coming to believe that many kinds of prop- 
erty shall not belong to any private person or corporation. 
The high roads, for example, were once nearly all privately 
owned, and every few miles a driver would have to stop and 
pay toll to the owner of the particular section of the road 
over which he was driving. At length, the majority of the 
people who did not own stock in roads found this a great 
burden and a nuisance, and the government bought the high- 
ways and threw them open to the public, placing the cost 
of maintenance on the taxpayer. Similarly in towns, the 
inhabitants once supplied themselves with water from their 
own wells, until in many cases the government stepped in 
and made the water supply a public institution, owned by 
the city or by a private corporation under city supervision. 

What shall be public property ? — This leads us to one of 
the greatest of all modern questions in civics : '^ What kinds 
of property that are now privately owned shall be turned 
into public property? " Many cities have decided that they 
should themselves own and operate their gas, electric light, 
and water works ; a few cities have public street railways 
which they themselves own ; and there is a large body of 
citizens who believe that all such municipal services should 
belong to the government or, rather, the people of the city, 
and that they should be run at cost or for profits to be turned 
into the public treasury. There are others, including the 
Postmaster-General of the United States, who hold that the 
railways should belong to the government as they do in 
Germany, and the socialists insist that all land and factories 



Property Rights 59 

and instruments of production on a large scale should be- 
come public property so that no private person could derive 
revenues simply from '' owning " property. 

Our state and national governments are now large property 
owners. — A very practical question with regard to public 
ownership is raised in connection with the large quantities 
of lands, forests, waterfalls, and mineral resources now held 
by the state and federal governments. For a long time it 
was the policy of these governments to give this property 
to private persons or sell it to them at a low price ; but now 
there is an increasing number of citizens who oppose selling 
such pubhc property. They believe that the governments 
should continue to hold all they now own and add to it by 
purchase. In order that this property may be put to good 
uses, they would have the governments manage it them- 
selves, or rent it out for terms of years to private persons 
and companies at profitable rates. 

The federal government as a business manager. — Indeed, 
the federal government is now a property manager on a 
large scale. It holds more than 100,000 square miles of land 
— an area larger than that of Wisconsin and Illinois put 
together. The forest land is watched over by rangers ap- 
pointed by the government. Timber is sold to private 
persons at a fixed price, and new trees are being planted to 
keep up the supply. The government also allows lumber- 
men, cattle rangers, and other private persons to use public 
lands under proper regulation and for reasonable pay. The 
government also owns immense areas of arid land, and these 
it is making ready for cultivation by great public irrigation 
plants. Provisions are made for leasing waterfalls to pri- 
vate companies, and it appears that a new policy with 
regard to public property will be adopted in the treatment 
of the resources of Alaska. 

How the use of private property is limited. — While our 
notions about what ought to be public and what private 



6o American Citizenship 

property change from time to time, our ideas about the way 
in which private persons may use their own property are 
changing even more rapidly.' We are prescribing by law 
how houses shall be built and managed in cities, how factories 
shall be ventilated, how dairies shall be conducted in the 
country in order to guarantee pure milk, how railways shall 
be operated, and what rates they shall charge for their 
services. It is particularly in regard to what are called 
*' public service corporations " that the idea of regulation 
of property has advanced most rapidly. Some states have 
gone so far as to make a public valuation of the railways 
within their borders and, having put a value on the prop- 
erty, they decide what the owners may charge for freight and 
passengers. Even the federal government is now making 
such a valuation for all the railways engaged in interstate 
traffic. 

The rights of property in labor. — One of the most impor- 
tant aspects of property is the right of working men and 
women to dispose of their labor power, which is usually the 
only property they possess that is of much consequence. 
The courts generally hold that the workingman's ability to 
labor is his peculiar property, to be disposed of as he sees 
fit. This is known as " freedom of contract " — the right 
to work for whom one pleases, as many hours a day as one 
pleases, and for what wages one is willing to accept. For a 
long time it was maintained that no one, not even the govern- 
ment, had the power to interfere with this right of working 
men and women to sell their labor as they pleased. 

Interference with freedom to labor as one pleases. — Within 
recent years, however, there has been a tendency to restrict 
this right in two ways, both of which involve the govern- 
ment. Thousands of working people are saying that if a 
workingman sells his labor at too low a price, he injures his 
family and the families of other people because he takes a 
job at a wage lower than any person can bring up a family 



Property Rights 6i 

decently on. They say that the single, unaided laborer is 
not in a fair position to bargain with well-to-do employers, 
because he must have work or starve, while the latter can 
wait indefinitely without suffering want. On these prin- 
ciples, trade unions are organized for the purpose of shorten- 
ing the hours of work and increasing wages; that is, for 
protecting and increasing property rights in labor. 

How the government is involved in labor unions. — But it 
may be said that labor organization is a private matter 
with which the government cannot interfere. On second 
thought, however, you will discover a connection between 
the government and trade unions. In the first place, the 
right to form trade unions at all is a legal right which has 
been won by long struggles against laws which branded such 
societies as conspiracies, and punished those connected with 
them. In the next place, the right to '^ picket " — that is, 
to set guards about factories where strikes are conducted 
to warn those who come to take the jobs of the strikers — 
is a right which strikers enjoy only with the consent of the 
state government. In the third place, the courts may, by 
an order known as an *' injunction," forbid strikers to engage 
in this or that practice and may throw those who disobey 
into jail. This contest over the sale of labor is, in fact, a 
contest over the very essence of property, that is, income, 
and the attitude of the government toward the matter is 
of the utmost importance. 

Government regulation of the rights of labor. — In addition 
to laws about trade unions and strikes, we have many other 
laws affecting the right of the laborer to work as long as and 
for what wages he pleases. Our state governments are limit- 
ing the hours of men in many trades, particularly those 
which are dangerous, such as mining and railroading. 
They are quite generally fixing the hours of work for women 
and children employed in industries. Contractors doing 
work for the government must pay their workingmen cer- 



62 American Citizenship 

tain standard wages, and recently we have seen the enact- 
ment of laws in some states providing for fixing the lowest 
wages which may be paid to women by employers. This is 
called '' the minimum wage." Other laws about labor 
require employers to pay compensation to those injured while 
at work, and to provide safety appliances in their places 
of business, even if plenty of workmen could be found will- 
ing to work without such appliances. Thus we see the right 
to use one's property as one sees fit is restricted, and the 
right to sell one's labor as one pleases is also limited in the 
name of common welfare. 

General tendencies in property rights. — It is impossible 
to mention here all of the changes which have been going on 
in property rights ; but it may be said that the tendency 
now is toward increasing the amount of property which is 
publicly owned, toward restricting the use of private prop- 
erty for the convenience of the public and the welfare of the 
working people, and toward the prevention of all kinds of 
money-making schemes by which clever persons rob the 
industrious. An example of the last tendency is to be found 
in laws forbidding the adulteration of food and the sale of 
fraudulent mining and industrial stocks to innocent pur- 
chasers. It is thus clear that every citizen should give 
attention to the subject of property and the rights pertain- 
ing to it, for they involve the most important matters coming 
up for consideration by the government to-day. 



Questions 

1. How have property rights changed from time to time ? 

2. Which one of those changes do you consider most im- 
portant ? 

3. What relation does the trades union bear to property rights ? 

4. What property does the federal government own ? 

5. How does it use it ? 

6. What changes are suggested with regard to federal property ? 



Property Rights 67, 

7. What further changes are suggested with regard to private 
property ? 

8. How do property rights compare in importance with civil 
rights ? 

9. What is the object to-day of inheritance, income, and similar 
taxes ? 

10. What is the struggle between capital and labor? 

11. What do the socialists say about property rights? 



Additional Reading 

The Distribution of Private Property : Burch and Nearing, 

Elements of Economics, pp. 255-264. 
Forms of Taxation : Burch and Nearing, pp. 248-254 ; Beard, 

Readings, pp. 590-605. 
Capital and Labor : Burch and Nearing, pp. 296-347. 
The Single Tax : Burch and Nearing, pp. 340-341. 
Socialism : Burch and Nearing, pp. 341-345. 



CHAPTER VI 
POLITICAL LIBERTY 

I. Political and civil liberty closely connected. 

II. The long struggle for political liberty. 

1. The right to vote very limited at first. 

2. Classes excluded from the right to vote in 1776. 

3. Early arguments against giving propertyless men the vote. 

4. Early arguments in favor of votes for propertyless men. 

5. Confused ideas about democracy. 

6. Our ideas about democracy change. 

7. The contest over votes for white men. • 

8. Votes for colored men. 

9. Votes for women. 

III. Present restrictions on the right to vote. 

1. Citizenship. 

a. How aliens are naturalized. 

h. The alien should become a citizen before voting. 

c. Voters of foreign birth likely to be clannish. 

d. What should be done with the foreign vote. 

2. The age limit for voters. 

3. Male sex qualification. 

4. Residence qualification. 

5. Taxpaying qualification. 

6. Educational test. 

7. How negroes are excluded from voting in the South. 

a. The federal Constitution and Southern suffrage restric- 
tions. 

8. Miscellaneous restrictions on voting. 



Political and civil liberty closely connected. — Political 
liberty includes the right to vote in elections at which those 
who make and enforce the laws are chosen and also the right 

64 



Political Liberty 65 

to hold office. While, as we have seen, the citizen may en- 
joy full civil liberty (rights of person and property) without 
at the same time having political liberty, it is a fact that 
men have commonly believed the two liberties to be insep- 
arable. The principle that without political liberty there 
can be no true civil liberty was expressed in the American 
doctrine that there should be no taxation without represen- 
tation; that is, no payment of money in taxes without a 
voice in deciding on the amount and kinds of taxes. It was 
written also in the Declaration of Independence in the 
immortal words that ^' governments derive their just powers 
from the consent of the governed." 

The long struggle for political liberty. — This theory of 
political liberty, like other notions about human rights, was 
of slow growth and has a long history. There was a time 
in England when the king ruled absolutely; his word was 
law; and all the high officers of government were his ap- 
pointees. In time, the great nobles, the landlords, and the 
rich merchants obtained the right to choose representatives 
to Parliament which after a long fight took away from the 
king his power to make laws, lay taxes, and rule absolutely. 
When the English colonies were founded in America, the 
rich classes in the mother country were represented in the 
Parliament, while the peasants, working people, and poor 
generally were deprived of the right to vote altogether. In 
short, only those (with a few exceptions) who held a certain 
amount of property enjoyed the right to vote and hold 
office, and the notion that the poor man should have the same 
privilege was regarded with horror by property owners. 

The right to vote very limited at first. — Such aristocratic 
notions were widely held in the American colonies, and there, 
too, the suffrage was confined to men who owned a definite 
amount of property. In fact, the lofty principles laid down 
in the Declaration of Independence were not written because 
all Americans had come to the conclusion that every person 



66 American Citizenship 

should have a voice m the government. On the contrary, a 
very large proportion of the white men were still deprived 
of the right to vote under the new Republic as before under 
the king of Great Britain. The Revolutionary War was 
fought to secure freedom from interference on the part of 
the British government, not to establish the right of all men 
to vote or to guarantee that no one should be governed 
without his consent. The Declaration of Independence, 
therefore, expressed a principle that was not completely 
carried out in practice. 

Classes excluded from the right to vote in 1776. — When the 
new government was set up after the break with England, 
there were several classes of the population that did not 
have the right to vote. Of course, the slaves did not have 
the ballot, and it was common to exclude free colored persons 
in the North. Black men in general did not get their politi- 
cal privileges until after the War, although a few states had 
enfranchised some of them before. Slaves were not the only 
persons denied the right to vote, however. In nearly every 
state the ballot was restricted to the property owners or 
taxpayers, and several devices were employed to give landed 
property owners a special control over government. Office- 
holders were frequently required to have large amounts of 
property and sometimes to hold certain religious opinions 
as well. Moreover, the idea that women should have any 
voice in the government built " on the consent of the gov- 
erned " never occurred to the founders of the Republic. 

Early arguments against giving propertyless men the vote. 
— In the long agitation over the right of the common man 
to vote (even if he had no property) which followed the 
Declaration of Independence, the whole question of the suf- 
frage was thoroughly threshed out. Many of the greatest 
men in our history, like Webster, Madison, Hamilton, and 
Jefferson were afraid of giving power to the poor — par- 
ticularly of the great cities. In every state where the suf- 



Political Liberty 6y 

frage was demanded by the disfranchised, arguments such 
as were put forward against it in the New York constitu- 
tional convention of 1821 were heard : '' There is no real 
demand for it — only a few noisy agitators are stirring the 
matter up; we are happy and prosperous now, why run 
any risks by doubling the number of voters; the extreme 
democratic principle has been regarded with terror by the 
wise men of every age, because in every European republic, 
ancient and modern, in which it has been tried, it has ter- 
minated disastrously and has been productive of corruption, 
injustice, violence, and tyranny; the poor have no interest 
in the government because they have no property at stake 
and Providence has decreed that we shall have the poor with 
us forever ; workingmen, if enfranchised, would neglect their 
work and engage in politics for which they are not fitted ; 
the extension of the right to vote to all white men on 
equal terms will end in the ruin of the government and uni- 
versal calamity." 

Early arguments in favor of votes for propertyless men. — 
Against these dire prophecies, the advocates of universal 
manhood suffrage brought forward arguments based on the 
'' natural " rights of mankind. They admitted that allow- 
ing all men an equal voice was in many ways experimental, 
but they claimed that it was an experiment based upon the 
professed principles of the Declaration of Independence: 
" governments derive their just powers from the consent of 
the governed." They also declared that the poor man with 
only his labor to sell needed the vote to protect himself 
against laws made in behalf of property and to secure laws 
favorable to his own welfare ; they denied that either intel- 
ligence or morality was possessed only by the well-to-do ; 
they scorned the idea that the propertyless were represented 
in the government, even though they had no voice in it ; 
and they concluded by adding that the men who were vote- 
less were determined to have it, and that it would be the 



68 American Citizenship 

better part of wisdom to give it to them without engendering 
a bitter struggle. 

Confused ideas about democracy. — It was a republic, not 
a democracy, which the men who estabHshed our form of 
government had particularly in mind, and it was not until 
more than half a century after the Declaration of Independ- 
ence that white men were given political liberty. This misun- 
derstanding about democracy is partly due to a confusion 
of terms. We sometimes speak as if a representative govern- 
ment, a republic, and a democracy were all the same; but 
this is not correct. A republic may be both representative 
and democratic, but it is not necessarily so. A republic 
simply means a country without a king or single absolute 
ruler, but such a country may be ruled by a very small class 
while the masses of the people have no share at all in the 
government. Likewise a representative government need 
not necessarily be democratic or republican. A representa- 
tive government means a government by persons chosen by 
voters, but under such a government the number of voters 
may be so restricted as to deny the majority of the adult 
men — to say nothing of the women — all share in the govern- 
ment. It was a representative republic that was established 
in the United States after the Declaration of Independence. 

Our ideas about democracy change. — A democracy, on 
the other hand, means a government by '' all of the 
people," but the term '' the people " does not mean the same 
to all persons or at all times. During the nineteenth century, 
it was held by most men that a democracy was a nation in 
which all of the adult males had the right to vote. But in 
the states where the women now vote and in other states where 
they are demanding the ballot, there is a widespread conviction 
that a government which excludes half of the population — the 
women — from the ballot is not a democracy at all. Thus 
it is apparent that the men who wrote the Declaration of 
Independence and framed our system of government in the 



Political Liberty 69 

eighteenth century did not say the last word about democ- 
racy, but left many additions to their fine theories about the 
rights of man to be made by later generations. 

The contest over votes for white men,— The story of 
the way the common man without property secured the 
ballot in this country has never been fully written. In 
New York, the last of the property qualifications for white 
men were abolished in 1826 after a good deal of agitation 
and the presentation of a monster petition containing 75,000 
names. In Rhode Island there was a sort of civil war m 
1842 known as Dorr's Rebellion which frightened the state 
government into giving votes to those who did not have 
the property required by the old law. In England, about 
the same time, there was a great deal of rioting and disorder 
on the part of the men who wanted the right to vote — a 
right which was not secured for most of them until 1867 in 

that country. 

Votes for colored men. — The advocates of white manhood 
suffrage prevailed in the long and bitter contest, and, by the 
eve of the Civil War, property qualifications on the right to 
vote were almost all swept away. The colored man stood 
on a different footing in the North as well as in the South. 
In a large number of the Northern states negroes were not 
allowed to vote at all, or unless they possessed a certain 
amount of property. After the war the problem of the 
newly emancipated slaves of the South was raised. The 
Thirteenth Amendment, which Lincoln did so much to secure, 
merely aboUshed slavery. Many Republicans held that on 
the theory of the rights of man the negroes were entitled 
to vote ; other Republicans thought that the former slaves 
would vote the Republican ticket if enfranchised ; and the 
oppressive laws passed in many Southern states which almost 
estabhshed slavery under another name led to the adoption 
of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which 
provides that when any state denies any of its male citizens 



70 



American Citizenship 




Political Liberty 71 

the right to vote, it shall have its number of representatives 
in Congress reduced. This was shortly afterward supple- 
mented by the Fifteenth Amendment, which says definitely 
that no person shall be disfranchised on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude. Thus it was 
thought that universal manhood suffrage would be estab- 
lished throughout the United States. 

Votes for women. — About the same time, women began 
to take an interest in the ballot and to demand the right to 
vote also. They made an eloquent plea to the New York 
constitutional convention of 1867 for the ballot, and soon 
a petition signed by 80,000 people asking for woman suffrage 
was laid before Congress. They appealed also to the doctrine 
that governments derive their just powers from the consent 
of the governed. They held that they were taxpayers and 
just as much concerned in the government as the men. They 
said also that the working women needed the vote for their 
protection just as much as the workingman needed it for 
his. They denied that they were represented in the govern- 
ment, even though they had no vote. They pointed out how 
women had won the right to their own property, the right to 
be educated, and the right to enter the professions, and added 
that it was impossible to open all the avenues of intelligence 
and industry to women and then keep them indefinitely under 
the political tutelage of men. In short, they repeated the 
arguments which had been made in behalf of universal man- 
hood suffrage a generation earlier. 

Women begin to win the vote. — For a long time after the 
Civil War the agitation for woman suffrage bore no fruit, 
except in the granting of the right to vote in school elections ; 
for example, in Michigan and Minnesota in 1875, New Hamp- 
shire and Oregon in 1878, and Vermont in 1880. Only in 
the territory of Wyoming did the women have the general 
suffrage which was secured to them there in 1869. Wyom- 
ing came into the Union as a state in 1890 and retained 



72 American Citizenship 

woman suffrage. In 1893 women were enfranchised in 
Colorado and three years later in Idaho and Utah. Then 
followed a lull in the agitation for a short period, only to be 
revived with renewed vigor at the opening of the twentieth 
century. Within little more than a decade five more states 
were won by the suffragists: Washington (1910), California 
(1911), and Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912. In 1913 
Illinois gave women the right to vote for many oflScers, 
including presidential electors. With eighteen out of the 
ninety-six senators and with thirty-seven Representatives 
in Congress, from equal suffrage states, excluding Illinois, 
the si;ffragists are now renewing their agitation for a national 
amendment, at Washington, with more effect than ever. 

Present restrictions on the right to vote. — Having briefly 
reviewed the history of the contest for political rights in the 
United States since the Declaration of Independence, we 
may now bring together the qualifications or restrictions 
which are placed on the right to vote in the United States 
at the present time. 

Citizenship. — Citizenship is a fundamental requirement 
of voters in nearly all the states. A few states, however, 
allow foreigners who possess the other local requirements 
to vote if they declare their intention of becoming cit- 
izens. 

(a) How aliens are naturalized. — An alien is made an 
American citizen in the following manner. After residing 
two years at least in the United States, he goes before a 
court of law and declares his intention of becoming an Ameri- 
can citizen. Not less than two years, nor more than seven 
years, afterward, he applies to the court for his papers of 
naturalization, and after ninety days have elapsed he ap- 
pears before the judge and his application is heard. If the 
judge is satisfied that the applicant should become a citizen, 
he thereupon issues the certificate of naturalization. An 
arbitrary judge may very readily exclude anybody whom he 



Political Liberty 73 

sees fit under the plea that the applicant is not of good moral 
character or well disposed toward the government. No 
foreigner can become a citizen until he has resided here at 
least five years. 

(6) The alien should become a citizen before voting. — 
The political rights of persons of foreign birth are a trouble- 
some matter. If every alien immigrant were made a voter 
the moment he landed, before he knew anything about the 
language, laws, and customs of the country, it would be a 
bad thing. It is not unfair, therefore, to require him to 
become a citizen before voting, because this compels him 
to reside in the United States for five years at least before 
taking part in the government. 

(c) Voters of foreign birth are likely to be clannish. — The 
requirement that aliens shall become citizens before voting 
does not solve every problem, for thousands of them con- 
tinue to live in the foreign quarters of our great cities and to 
read their own newspapers and speak only their own lan- 
guages long after they have been made citizens. They 
sometimes take a very narrow view of politics and are 
marched to the polls to vote by political managers without 
knowing why they are voting or what they are voting for. 
They are sometimes accused of being more ready to sell their 
votes than native Americans ; but this is not true. 

{d) What should be done with the foreign vote. — Never- 
theless, there is a good deal of criticism of " the foreign 
vote " by native Americans who seem to think they have 
a complete monopoly on this particular section of the earth ; 
and often the demand is made for some drastic laws against 
the voting of persons of foreign origin. The foreigners, men 
and women, make up a large part of our hard-working popu- 
lation; they suffer from industrial accidents, from bad 
tenements, long hours of work, low wages, and other evils 
of modern civilization. It is not enough to fling at them the 
declaration that the United States is better than Russia. 



74 American Citizenship 

It is not so good but that it can be improved, and foreigners 
are not required to endure everything simply because Ameri- 
cans have been willing to admit them. Instead of denying 
the ballot to persons of foreign birth, it is better to educate 
them, to improve the conditions under which they live and 
labor, and to give them a fair chance to become valuable 
American citizens. 

The age limit for voters. — All states require the voter 
to be twenty-one years old at least — this being the age at ' 
which a man arrives at maturity, the age at which he is 
supposed to have judgment enough to manage his own affairs 
and take part in the government of his country. The same 
age is required for women voters. 

Male sex qualification. — Thirty-seven of the states re- 
strict the right to vote in all elections to men, but, as we have 
seen, nine have equal suffrage, while a majority of the other 
states allow women to vote in school elections. Illinois has 
very recently granted them the right to vote for many state 
and local officials, and for presidential electors. 

Residence qualification. — The voter must reside for a 
certain length of time in the place where he expects to cast 
his ballot. Some states require the voter to have resided 
within their borders for six months, others for one year, and 
a few for two years. 

Taxpaying qualification. — A few states — for example, 
Arkansas, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee — allow only tax- 
payers to vote ; that is, those who pay a poll tax have the 
ballot. In some Southern states persons who pay taxes or 
own a certain amount of property can vote, even if they do 
not have the other qualifications mentioned below. 

The educational test. — About one-third of the states have 
some kind of educational test. Massachusetts requires the 
voter to be able to read a section of the state constitution 
in the English language and write his own name. Con- 
necticut has similar requirements. The educational test 



Political Liberty 75 

is used in some Southern states as an alternative to other 
qualifications (see next paragraph). 

How negroes are excluded from voting in the South. — In 
the South a number of restrictions have been devised to ex- 
clude the negroes from voting. These restrictions are in 
general as follows : (a) the voter must be able to give a 
" reasonable explanation " of some part of the state consti- 
tution when it is read to him by the registering officers; 
or (h) he must own a certain amount of property; or (c) 
he must be a person who voted or the descendant of a person 
who voted before 1867; or (d) he must have been a Fed- 
eral or Confederate soldier. 

(a) The federal Constitution and Southern suffrage re- 
strictions. — It is sometimes said that the Southern states 
which have these restrictions violate the federal Constitu- 
tion ; but this is not strictly correct. The Constitution simply 
says that no one shall be disfranchised on account of race or 
color or previous condition of servitude, and the above 
restrictions do not violate this rule. The Fourteenth Amend- 
ment does say, however, that when any state excludes male 
citizens from voting, it shall have the number of its represent- 
atives in Congress reduced in proportion. If this were 
enforced, the Southern states and the Northern states which 
have property and educational restrictions would have their 
representation reduced; but there is no serious attempt to 
enforce it. 

Miscellaneous restrictions on voting. — There are several 
distinct types of persons in the states who are not permitted 
to vote; such as idiots, paupers, the insane, bigamists and 
polygamists, duelists, felons or those convicted of infamous 
crimes, and Indians not taxed. Voters convicted of bribery 
at the polls are often disfranchised for a certain specified 
time. Soldiers and sailors are denied political rights in some 
states on the ground that they are within the state, not as 
citizens, but merely on duty as representatives of the federal 



^6 American Citizenship 

government, whereas voters of a state are required to be 
citizens of that state. 

A criminal may regain his right to vote by securing a par- 
don from the governor ; and often an unpardoned criminal, 
who goes to a new state after he has served his prison term 
in his own state, can vote, by concealing his identity. 



Questions 

1. What is the difference between civil and political liberty? 

2. What relation do they bear to each other ? 

3. What has been the history of the right to vote in the United 
States ? 

4. What is the distinction in meaning between the words 
republic and democracy ? Does one necessarily exclude the other ? 

5. Who are "the people" in a political sense ? Is it a term that 
always means the same thing ? 

6. What arguments w^ere used against manhood suffrage before 
it became established ? 

7. What arguments were advanced by worMngmen to support 
their demand for the vote ? 

8. Where do women vote in the United States ? 

9. What is the political standing of foreigners in the United 
States ? 

10. What persons are generally excluded from the right to vote 
besides women ? 



Additional Reading 

The Rise of Political Democracy : Beard, American Govern- 
ment, pp. 79-86. 

The Right of Women to the Ballot: Kelley, Some Ethical 
Gains through Legislation, pp. 172-206 ; Beard, Readings, pp. 
407-410. 

Objections to Woman Suffrage : Bryce, The American Common- 
wealth, Vol. II, pp. 600-612; Beard, Readings, pp. 405-407. 

Political Rights and Duties : Kaye, Readings in Civil Govern- 
ment, pp. 111-128. 



PART II 

THE MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT — 
OFFICERS, ELECTIONS, AND PARTIES 



CHAPTER VII 
THE GREAT PARTS OF AMERICAN GOVERNMENT 

I. The study of the machinery of government. 

1. Danger in viewing government as merely a set of rules. 

2. The rules of government cannot always be understood 

merely by memorizing them. 

3. We must study government with a view to discovering its 

usefulness to the people. 

4. The people must decide whether good or bad work shall be 

done by the government. 
II. How to go about mastering a complicated machine. 

1. Our national, state, and local governments simply parts of 
a big machine. 

III. Our government is federal. 

1. Why we have a federal government. 

2. How the Constitution was framed. 

IV. The division of each government into three parts. 

1. The origin of the "separation of powers." 

2. Separation of powers reduces dangers of tyranny by the 

majority. 

3. Our present theory of the separation of powers. 

4. The separation of powers is a vital matter. 

V. The separation of powers influences our party politics. 

1. Responsibility for government is divided. 

2. Separation of powers encourages the growth of strong 

political parties. 

3. The separation of powers helps to make the executive a 

lawmaker. 
VI. The separation of powers and the judges of the courts. 

1. The recent prominence of the judiciary in politics. 

2. The power of the judge to declare laws null and void. 

3. Difficulties arising from the power of the judges to declare 

laws void. 

4. Proposals to change the present judicial system. 

79 



8o American Citizenship 

5. Why change in the judicial system is demanded by some 

persons. 

6. Why changes in the judicial system are opposed. 

7. How our system of the separation of powers checks hasty 

action. 

8. The majority rules in the long run. 



The study of the machinery of government. — There is 
one view of government which is purely technical, and leaves 
out of account altogether the human side of the matter. 
From that standpoint civics is merely a study of the rules 
which provide how officers shall be elected, how long their 
terms shall be, what powers they shall have, and how laws 
shall be made for the government of the people. 

Danger in viewing government as merely a set of rules. — ■ 
Viewed in this way, government is simply a matter of 
rules ; and so absorbed are some people in memorizing them 
that they forget other aspects. They grow so interested 
in the law about terms, powers, and qualifications that they 
come to look upon the law as an end in itself, to be studied 
for its own sake, instead of as a means to serve human welfare. 
This view also overlooks the most important thing of all; 
namely, that the government in fact consists of persons 
engaged in doing certain tasks. It requires no great amount 
of intelligence to discover that by electing different persons 
to offices we may have quite a different government within 
limits without any change in the laws at all. Just as a school 
may be good under one teacher and bad under another with- 
out any change in the way of choosing school boards and 
teachers, so the government may be efficient or wasteful 
without changes in the laws about elections and terms of 
office. 

The rules of government cannot always he understood merely 
hy memorizing them. — While the student of government 
must learn its rules, he must also pay particular attention 



The Great Parts of American Government 8i 

to the question of why the rules were adopted at all. He 
must also study especially the way in which the persons, 
charged with carrying out the rules, go about their tasks. 
For example, a law may prescribe that a certain officer shall 
be appointed in a certain way, not necessarily because that 
is the way to get the best kind of officer, but possibly be- 
cause certain politicians may choose one of their own number 
if that method is employed. Again, there have been in- 
stances of good laws being made to control railway companies 
and then agents of the railways appointed to office to enforce 
the laws in such a way as to make them of no use to the 
public. Examples might be multiplied to show that, when 
one knows the mere rules of government as they appear on 
printed pages of the law books, one does not necessarily 
know very much about government. 

We must study government with a view to discovering its 
usefulness to the people. — Nevertheless, it is important to 
study the laws, or the machinery of government, as it is 
called; and, if we fix our attention on the output of the 
machine rather than on the machine itself, we get a new 
interest in it. We cannot escape the laborious task of learn- 
ing about many dry details of government. The master 
musician learns all about the machinery of the instrument 
on which he plays; the skilled artist studies the chemistry 
of paints and oils as well as the great paintings of the masters ; 
the writer must learn the rules of composition even though 
he never intends to write a grammar ; and the teacher must 
learn about making reports and keeping records, although 
the purpose of teaching is to make better and more intelli- 
gent boys and girls. If you can imagine, however, a musi- 
cian more interested in organ bellows than in music, or a 
teacher more concerned with reports and records than with 
boys and girls, you can picture to yourselves the person more 
interested in the rules of government than in its achieve- 
ments. 



82 American Citizenship 

The people must decide whether good or had work shall he 
done hy the government. — The voter has to study certain 
machinery or rules of government in order to play an impor- 
tant part in government, and those who cannot vote must 
also study it if they wish to be intelligent members of society. 
The government is a great piece of public machinery which 
can bring conveniences, comfort, order, and happiness to 
millions, or the very opposite of these things, according as the 
voters understand it and decide to what use it shall be 
put. Like a ship that may be fitted out to carry useful things 
from country to country or to bring death and destruction 
in battles, so the government may be regarded as an instru- 
ment of oppression or as a servant of public good. It is 
for those who direct it to determine its use by their wisdom, 
their sense of right, and their votes. Finally, the voter 
must know something of the history of government in order 
to realize how it has already been changed and improved 
from time to time, and in order to understand also how it 
may be improved in the future. 

How to go about mastering a complicated machine. — 
When one imdertakes the study of a big and complicated 
machine, he does not begin at one end and study all of the 
little details one after another luitil he reaches the other end. 
If he does, the chances are that he will not loiow much about 
the machine when he is through. He learns about the 
leading parts of the machine first, the principles on which 
it is constructed, and the way the chief parts work into one 
another; then he masters the minor attachments to the 
great parts. 

Our national, state, and local governments simply parts of 
a hig machine. - — So it is in the study of government. We 
do not start with New York City and go out to San Francisco 
by way of Washington, D.C. First, we learn about the big 
and important parts of the American governmental machine, 
and how they fit into each other, and how all of them at 



The Great Parts of American Government 83 

the same time affect our daily lives. We do this in order to 
understand the machine as a working concern, all parts of 
which must act together. 

Our government is federal. — The first important thing, 
then, to know about our great governmental machine is 
that it is federal in character. That is, instead of one single 
government at Washington making laws on all matters for 
all of the people, we have a central government which makes 
and enforces laws on matters which are national in that 
they concern the people of more than one state at the same 
time; and we have forty-eight state governments which 
make laws on matters which concern only the people within 
their respective boundaries. It is because there is so little 
understanding of the work of these two big parts of our 
machinery of government that we have people asking the 
national government to do things which belong to state 
governments and demanding from the state governments 
laws on matters which the states have no power to touch 
at all. 

Why we have a '^ federal " government. — Why we have this 
federal system instead of a " unitary " system like France 
where one parliament makes laws for the whole republic is 
to be explained by referring to our history. Our country 
began by small settlements of pioneers, which in time grew 
to be colonies : Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, and the rest of the thirteen. When the Revolution- 
ary War came on, the colonies joined in a common govern- 
ment principally for mutual defense, and at the same time 
each colony set up a government of its own as a state. From 
your history you know how, at the close of the Revolution, 
the colonists framed a common government under the Articles 
of Confederation, as it was called, and gave that government 
certain powers over the army, taxation, money, and so forth. 
From your history also you know how dissatisfaction with 
the Articles of Confederation grew up and how in 1789 a 



84 American Citizenship 

new system of government under our present Constitution 
was framed — a system of government which embraced 
national officials invested with certain powers, and at the 
same time forbade the states to interfere with certain matters. 

How the Constitution of the United States was framed. — 
This new Constitution — now over one hundred and twenty- 
five years old — was drafted by a convention of delegates 
chosen by the state legislatures, who held their sessions at 
Philadelphia in the summer of 1787. In drafting the Consti- 
tution they had to be very careful not to give the central gov- 
ernment too much power, for the states were jealous of one 
another and they would not have ratified the new document 
when it was done if it had interfered seriously in their affairs. 
By very ingenious work, the framers of the Constitution con- 
trived the double system which we now have, and it was ap- 
proved in each state by a convention of delegates specially 
chosen by the voters (p. 66) for the purpose of passing 
upon the scheme submitted by the Philadelphia convention. 
This is how it happened that we have a double govern- 
mental machine, instead of a single central government. 

The division of each government into three parts. — In 
constructing our national government and our state govern- 
ments, it has been thought best to divide each of them into 
three great parts : the legislature which makes the laws ; the 
executive which enforces them ; and the judicial department 
which interprets them. You will find this principle adopted 
in the national government at Washington, in the government 
at the capital of your state, and perhaps in the government 
of your city. We say " perhaps," because cities are rapidly 
giving up the idea that a good government must be divided 
into three parts, and many of them, as we shall see (p. 136) 
are giving the lawmaking and the law-enforcing powers to the 
same body of men. 

The origin of the " separation of powers.'^ — How did the 
notion arise that a good governmental machine must consist 



The Great Parts of American Government 85 

of three parts ? This is a very hard question to answer briefly, 
because it has such a long and tangled history. In the early 
days of the English monarchy, the king got into his hands 
the power to make such rules as he pleased for his subjects 
and also the power to enforce those rules by his own officers — 
judges, sheriffs, and other royal agents. In time, as we have 
seen (p. 4), certain of the king's subjects wrested from 
him the power to make the laws, and vested it in a legislature, 
one house being elected by the voters. In time, also, the 
king's subjects who could vote began to object to the way 
in which the king's judges punished and imprisoned in viola- 
tion of the laws, and Parliament at length declared that 
the judges must be independent of the king — that is, not 
controlled by him but by the Parliament. Englishmen 
did not believe that the judges should be entirely independent 
of the Parliament, however, with the power to declare laws 
made by Parliament null and void. That is a purely Ameri- 
can notion of the judicial power (p. 89). 

Separation of powers reduces dangers of tyranny by the 
majority. — These three branches — executive, legislative, 
and judicial — were set up in the English colonies in America, 
and continued after the Revolutionary War, partly because 
of force of habit and partly because of new ideas which had 
been developed. In the days of absolute kings, men had 
learned that there was sure to be tyranny and cruelty in the 
land if the power to make, interpret, and enforce the laws was 
in royal hands. In America, the tyranny of one man was no 
longer feared ; but many great statesmen came to believe 
that the danger of tyranny on the part of the legislature rep- 
resenting the voters was as serious as, if not more serious 
than, the danger from a monarchy. The majority of the 
voters may be wrong, just as a king may be wrong, so these 
leaders thought, and consequently the danger should be 
lessened by dividing the power of government into three parts 
so that it would be difficult for any one part to exercise its 



86 American Citizenship 

authority tyrannically, and difficult also for the three parts to 
join in the same act of injustice. 

Our present theory of the separation of powers. — In time 
it came to be held that, although the government ought to 
be constructed of three parts, the purpose was not to make the 
rule of the majority of voters difficult, or impossible, but 
to make sure that there should be a long and fair consider- 
ation of any matter to be determined by the voters, so that 
a majority might not suddenly and passionately make a law 
oppressing others. This is really the theory upon which the 
separation into three powers rests to-day. Any law must 
pass the legislature (state or national) which has two branches, 
each of which is supposed to check and balance the other 
and prevent it from acting hastily. The executive has the 
veto power, the power to say to the legislature : " This is an 
unjust or unwise law, and I disapprove of it and say it ought 
not to be a law at all ; " and when this is done by the execu- 
tive the legislature must pass the measure again, usually 
by a larger majority, if it is to become law in spite of the 
veto. But this is not all of the gauntlet which a law must 
run. When the legislature has made it and the executive 
signed it, a citizen against whom it is enforced may go to the 
courts and say : "I think this law is no law at all because the 
constitution of this state or of the United States forbids such 
a law." And, if the court agrees, the law is dead. All this 
takes a long time, and hence hasty action is impossible. The 
people are required to think the matter over carefully. 

The separation of powers is a vital matter. — This '' separa- 
tion of powers " is, therefore, no dull subject to be memorized 
by rote. It is one of the most vital matters of all govern- 
ment. It involves the fundamental question : " Should a 
majority of those who take the trouble to vote in any election 
be allowed to make any law they please on any matter they 
please without being checked by any device or without being 
forced to reconsider the matter very seriously if it touches 



The Great Parts of American Government 87 

the life and liberty and property of individuals?" The 
American theory at present is that, in the long run, the 
majority of the people decide matters rightly, but that there 
must be some way of seeing that the " long run " is long 
enough. 

The separation of powers influences our party politics. — 
The separation of the government into three parts for the 
purpose of enabling one to check and balance the other has a 
very deep influence on the actual conduct of the government 
and particularly on the political campaigns for offices. 
This can best be illustrated by comparison with the system 
in England. There the executive is not the king, for the king 
does not interfere in politics at all. The executive is the 
cabinet, composed of high government ofiicers selected from 
the leaders of the political party in power in the legislature or 
Parliament. Any law which Parliament passes is enforced, 
for no court can set it aside as null and void, and the men 
responsible for carrying the law into effect are the cabinet 
officers who sit in Parliament and direct the business of the 
legislature. Thus there is what is known as a " fusion " 
of the executive and legislative parts of government, instead 
of a separation as with us. The cabinet in Parliament is 
responsible for whatever the government of England does. 

Responsibility for government is divided. — Now in the 
United States, the separation of powers divides responsibility 
in the conduct of government. The President or governor 
has his notions of what laws should be passed, and the legisla- 
ture has other notions, and the result is frequently a com- 
promise in which neither one gains the day, while nobody 
can tell whom to praise or blame. Often the executive 
cannot enforce a law because the legislature has not voted 
money for the purpose or provided for a sufficient number of 
officers to carry it out, and thus the executive may be blamed 
for not doing his duty, when it is not his fault at all. Again, 
it often happens that the legislature passes a good law, which 



88 American Citizenship 

the executive does not like and therefore takes no pains to 
put into effect. Where the same men are responsible for the 
making and carrying out of the laws, the people can know 
whom to blame if things do not go well ; but in the United 
States it is thought that the dangers of too hasty popular 
action are greater than the inconveniences of divided re- 
sponsibility. 

Separation of 'powers encourages the growth of strong political 
parties. — Another way in which the separation of powers 
influences government is in connection with elections and 
political parties. In order to get a law made and enforced, 
it is necessary for those demanding it to control both the 
legislature and the executive, for, if they have one part of 
the government and not the other, they cannot be sure of 
attaining their end. Hence the separation of powers makes 
it necessary for political parties to be very strong, so that 
they can get possession of the entire government. For 
example, if a party wishes a law prohibiting the sale of 
liquor, it must have a majority in the legislature to pass the 
law and, what is equally important, it must get possession 
of the executive branch to enforce the law against those who 
seek to sell liquor in defiance of the law. 

The separation of powers helps to make the executive a law- 
maker. — Another way in which the separation of powers 
influences government is in connection with legislation. The 
executive, in spite of his title, really has some legislative 
powers : he can veto laws and he can recommend laws in 
his messages. So it has happened that candidates for the 
presidency of the United States and for the office of governor 
in the several states announce that they will advocate the 
making of certain laws in case they are elected; and the 
people are beginning to look to their executives even more 
than to the legislatures for the passage of laws in harmony 
with campaign promises. This raises one of the prominent 
questions of our present-day politics : " Does not the execu- 



The Great Parts of American Government 89 

tive department threaten to overshadow the legislature in 
the minds of the voters? " At all events, in elections, we do 
not choose executives merely because we think they will be 
good men to enforce the laws. On the contrary, we often 
think more of what laws they will compel the legislature to 
pass by using their messages to stir up discussion and by 
threatening to veto certain bills in order to force the legisla- 
ture to pass their own. The executive in the United States 
is becoming a lawmaker as well as a law-enforcer. 

The separation of powers and the judges of the courts. — 
For the same reasons candidates for the office of judge are 
likewise brought into politics. The judge has the power 
to set aside the law passed by the legislature and signed 
by the governor if he believes that it is contrary to the con- 
stitution of the state or of the United States. The judge also 
has the power to change the law by interpreting it in a way 
which the legislature did not intend it to be interpreted. 
Rules made by the interpretation of the judges are called 
judge-made laws. Since the judge has the power to unmake 
laws by declaring them unconstitutional and the power 
to change them by interpretation, the voters are beginning 
to inquire of candidates for the office of judge : ^' What views 
do you hold concerning the desirability of such and such laws, 
and how would you interpret this or that measure if you 
were elected? " Thus the judge, whose chief business is to 
decide disputes between private citizens and to try those 
charged with crimes, becomes mixed up with politics, and the 
voters are beginning to think more about his views on 
certain kinds of laws than they do about his fairness and im- 
partiality in trials. 

The recent prominence of the judiciary in politics. — The 
position of the judiciary in the scheme of the separation of 
powers is so difficult to understand that it is necessary to 
explain it at some length. Lawmaking and law-enforcing 
are by comparison easier to comprehend, and a great deal 



90 American Citizenship 

more attention has therefore been given by the voters at large 
to the executive and the legislature than to the judiciary. 
But recently there has been much talk about the power of 
the judges to declare laws null and void, and there have been 
suggested many changes in the judicial department. Conse- 
quently, the citizen should give no little thought to the 
power of the courts, and particularly to the principles upon 
which it depends. 

The power of the judge to declare laws null and void. — The 
theory of the power of judges to declare laws void is as follows. 
There have been laid down in the national Constitution and 
the state constitution certain rules providing that the exec- 
utive may do this or that and that the legislature may do 
this and not do that. Suppose, however, that the legislature, 
in spite of the fact that it is forbidden to pass a law abolishing 
jury trial, does pass such a law any way. Suppose a citizen 
is arrested for a crime and is brought into court for trial. 
He says : " The constitution of my state and the Constitu- 
tion of the United States both provide for jury trial in case 
of a serious charge like this against me and I claim that the 
law recently passed by the legislature abolishing trial by 
jury is contrary to the higher law — the constitution — and is 
therefore null and void." The judge is under oath to support 
the constitutions of the state and nation ; these constitutions 
forbid legislatures to abolish trial by jury in serious crimes ; 
he must choose between the higher law — the constitution — 
and the forbidden law ; and he inevitably declares the for- 
bidden law null and void. Acts of Congress may be declared 
void as contrary to the federal Constitution by state as well 
as federal judges, but there is always an appeal to the 
Supreme Court of the United States in such cases. Acts of 
state legislatures are often set aside by federal judges, as 
contrary to the federal Constitution. 

Difficulties arising from the power of the judges to declare 
laws void, — This is the theory of the system, but in practice 



The Great Parts of American Government 91 

the matter is not so simple. It is not often that a legislature 
makes a law which is expressly forbidden by the constitution, 
and if the courts had held only such laws void there would 
doubtless have been little controversy about the matter. 
But the constitutions, state and national, do not contain 
many clauses forbidding the doing of definite things by the 
executive or the legislature ; on the contrary, they lay down 
rather general principles which may be interpreted one way or 
another according to the views of the judges passing upon 
them. Here is where the trouble comes in. The legislature 
believes that it has the power to pass a certain law, and 
thousands of voters believe that the law is both desirable and 
constitutional (that is, not forbidden by the constitution) ; 
but the judges of the courts may hold an opposite view and 
declare the law null. Then there is an outcry that the judges 
are biased and simply setting their will up against that of the 
voters and the legislature. 

Proposals to change the present judicial system. — The 
action of the United States courts and of several state courts 
within recent years in setting aside laws has brought about 
many proposed changes in the system which now gives the 
judges an equal position with the legislature. Some go as 
far as to say that the judges have no business at all to set 
aside laws ; that the will of the people as expressed by the 
legislature in a law should be supreme as in England. Other 
critics do not go as far. They propose that the voters 
should elect the judges of the United States courts, who are 
all appointed by the President and Senate for life, as we shall 
see later (p. 117). They propose also that all state judges 
should be elected by popular vote and that, whenever a 
certain percentage of the voters do not like the action of a 
judge in a certain case, they may petition for his recall 
and compel him to stand for a new election even in the middle 
of his term, in order to find out whether the voters approve 
of his conduct in applying the law. Still others propose to 



92 American Citizenship 

" recall/' not the judge, but his decision, permitting a certain 
number of petitioners to require the submission of the de- 
cision of the judge to the voters to see whether they approve 
his action in declaring a law unconstitutional. 

Why changes in the judicial system are demanded by some 
persons. — Advocates of these changes claim that what 
the judge does in setting aside a law is to put his will in the 
place of the popular will. They say : " Judges are men like 
the rest of us, influenced by what they read, by what they 
have experienced, and by the persons with whom they have 
associated. When they put on the judicial robe and take 
their places on the bench, they do not cease to have the 
views which they had as private citizens, and, if they thought 
a law undesirable before they became judges, they are apt 
to think it unconstitutional as judges. The judge therefore 
is reading his own ideas of what should be law into the law 
when he holds an act of the legislature void. Thus the judge 
is really superior to the law and to the people's will, and it is 
necessary to make him subordinate to that will." 

Why changes in the judiciary are opposed. — It will be seen 
that these proposals go to the root of our system of govern- 
ment. Those who oppose these changes point this out. 
They say that the constitution is the solemn will of the 
voters and cannot be changed except in the way provided 
for amendment. If the legislature can pass any law it pleases, 
there is no necessity of having a constitution at all, and who- 
ever is in a majority to-day in the legislature can change the 
most fundamental matters, such as trial by jury or the right 
to hold one's property. Therefore, the opponents of change 
say every law passed by the legislature should be liable to 
examination by the courts, formed to study the rules laid 
down in constitutions and to prevent hasty and unjust actions 
on the part of the voters or the legislature whom they elect. 

How our system of separation of powers checks hasty action. 
— It will thus be seen that our separation of powers brings 



The Great Parts of American Government 93 

about a great deal of friction between the legislature and the 
executive and the judiciary. They are always checking one 
another, and not infrequently they are quarreling among 
themselves as to their respective rights and powers and duties. 
The voters are in much confusion as to which branch of the 
government most deserves their sympathy and support; 
and so it often comes about that only when a considerable 
majority of the voters are bound and determined to get a 
certain important law passed is it possible to bring all three 
branches into harmony. 

The majority rules in the long run. — It does not' prevent 
the majority from having its way finally, but it cannot 
have its way quickly or easily. A good example of this is 
the federal income tax. In 1894 Congress passed a law 
laying a federal tax on incomes ; in 1895 the Supreme Court 
of the United States set it aside as violating the Constitu- 
tion. Those who believed in the income tax continued their 
agitation to amend the Constitution so as to get around the 
decision of the Court, and after nearly twenty years (1895- 
1913) they were able to secure an amendment allowing 
Congress to lay income taxes. Those who want to see things 
done in a hurry say that this is too long ; those opposed to 
radical changes reply that it is better to run the risk of being 
too long about an important matter than to do things in too 
great a rush. 



Questions 

1. What are the three parts of American government and what 
is the function of each ? 

2. What is the theory behind this division of activity ? 

3. What are some of the disadvantages of this division ? 

4. Is the distinction sharp between these divisions? Illus- 
trate your answer by some examples. 

5. In what sense is a judge a political factor ? 

6. What are judge-made laws ? 



94 American Citizenship 

7. What changes are proposed in our judicial system ? 

8. What do opponents of those changes say ? 

9. Why should we have respect for the law ? 

10. Explain what is meant by government by majority rule. 



Additional Reading 

The Separation of Powers : Beard, American Government, pp. 

152-155 ; 164-165 ; Beard, Readings, pp. 49-53 ; 138-140. 
Congress and the President: Bryce, American Commonwealth, 

Vol. I, pp. 209-228. 
The Courts and the Constitution: Bryce, Vol. I, pp. 242-261, 

262-277. 
The Power of Passing upon the Constitutionality of 

Statutes: Beard, American Government, pp. 307-314; Beard, 

Readings, pp. 274-290. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

I. The national government is constitutional. 

1. The method of amending the Constitution. 
II, The national government is representative. 

1. The parts of the national government chosen by the 
voters. 

III. The two houses of Congress. 

IV. The House of Representatives. 

1. Taking the census in order to apportion Representatives. 

2. Fixing the number of Representatives. 

3. The numbers of voters in the congressional districts 

are unequal. 

4. Election of Representatives. 

5. Qualifications of the Representatives. 

6. How the voter takes part in choosing a Representative. 
V. The Senate. 

1. The election of Senators. 

2. The qualifications and terms of Senators. 

3. The reason for electing only one-third at a time. 

VI. The meetings of Congress : long and short sessions. 

VII. The presiding officers. 
VIII. The making of laws. 

1. The committees of Congress. 

2. How the committee handles bills. 

3. Voting on bills in the two houses. 
IX. The powers of Congress. 

X. The special powers of the Senate. 
XI. The election of the President. 

1. Why the President is not elected by direct, popular vote. 

2. How presidential electors are chosen. 

3. The nomination of presidential candidates. 

4. The presidential primary. 

5. The campaign. 

6. The presidential election. 

95 



96 American Citizenship 

7. Casting and counting the electoral vote. 

8. Disputed elections. 

XII. The qualifications, term, and pay of the President. 

XIII. Appointing federal officers. 

1. The civil service law of 1883. 

2. The troubles of the President in making appointments. 

XIV. The President must enforce the law. 

XV. Pardoning offenders against the federal laws. 
XVI. The President as a military commander. 
XVII. The President and Congress : the message. 

1. The use of the veto power. 

2. Special sessions of Congress. 

3. How treaties are made. 

XVIII. The President may recognize foreign countries. 
XIX. The President's helpers. 

1. The Cabinet and the President. 

2. The Cabinet and Congress. 

3. Congress might control the Cabinet. 

4. The distribution of work in each Department. 
XX. The federal courts. 

1. The power of Congress over the federal courts. 

2. How the federal courts are brought near to the citizen. 
XXI. What matters go into federal courts. 



The national government is constitutional. — The national 
government is constitutional ; that is, its framework and 
powers are described in a famous document drafted in 1787 
(p. 84) and they cannot be changed except in a special 
manner, by amendment. This Constitution falls into four 
main parts. It stipulates (a) how the Congress or law- 
making body, the President or chief executive officer, and the 
supreme judges shall be elected or chosen ; (h) what powers 
over the affairs of the people each of the three branches shall 
enjoy ; (c) what limitations shall be imposed on the state 
governments; (d) and how the document itself may be 
amended. The seventeen amendments which have been 
added merely deal with one or more of the parts just enu- 
merated. 



The National Government 97 

The method of amending the Constitution. — This Constitu- 
tion differs from any law made by Congress in that it may be 
altered only by an extraordinary method. A change in 
the Constitution may be made by a resolution passed by a 
majority of two-thirds in each house of Congress and ap- 
proved by the legislatures or by conventions in three-fourths 
of the states. A second way of changing the Constitution 
is for Congress, on the application of two-thirds of the state 
legislatures, to call a national convention to propose amend- 
ments, which amendments must be approved, however, by the 
legislatures or by conventions in three-fourths of the states. 
The only method which has thus far been employed is that of 
passage by Congress and ratification by state legislatures. 
The rule that it takes a two-thirds vote in Congress and the 
approval of three-fourths of the states makes it difficult to 
change the Constitution unless a very large majority of the 
people are in favor of it. 

The national government is representative. — Since there 
are about fifteen million voters in the United States, it is im- 
possible for them to assemble at one time and place to make 
known their needs and wishes about laws and their enforce- 
ment. They therefore choose agents to go to Washington to 
enact the laws for the nation and to look after putting them 
into effect. Thus our national government is " represent- 
ative " in character, not a direct democracy in which all 
voters act for themselves. 

The parts of the national government chosen by the voters. — 
The voters send three kinds of agents to Washington to carry 
out their will : (1) four hundred and thirty-five Representa- 
tives, one for about every 220,000 persons in the United 
States ; (2) two Senators from each state ; and (3) a President 
and Vice President representing the whole union. The first 
two groups of agents are elected by the voters directly, and 
the President and Vice President are chosen by electors 
selected by the voters. 



98 American Citizenship 

The Congress of the United States 

The two houses of Congress. — Those representatives who 
are sent to Washington to make laws are called Congressmen, 
and all of them together are called " The Congress of the 
United States." This body is composed of two groups or 
Houses, as they are termed : the House of Representatives, 
consisting of four hundred and thirty-five members, and the 
Senate, consisting of ninety-six members. There are two 
reasons given for dividing Congress into two houses instead 
of putting all of the lawmakers into one body : (a) In the 
lower house the people of each state are represented roughly 
according to their numbers, so that a large and populous 
state like New York may have more members than a small 
state like Delaware ; while in the upper house each state en- 
joys equal power, because it has two Senators. Without 
this arrangement it would have been impossible to have 
formed the Constitution of the Union in 1787, for the small 
states demanded equality. (6) The two houses are sup- 
posed to check and balance each other and thus prevent 
impulsive action on the part of either. 

The House of Representatives. — The House of Represent- 
atives is now composed of four hundred and thirty-five 
members. The number is fixed by Congress itself every ten 
years after the national census is taken. The number is then 
apportioned among the states roughly according to popula- 
tion — about one Representative for every 220,000 people ; 
but each state has at least one Representative even though it 
does not have 220,000 inhabitants. Although these Repre- 
sentatives are elected directly by the voters, the theory is 
that they represent those who cannot vote also. This is 
called " virtual representation," as opposed to direct represen- 
tation by personal choice through the ballot. 

Taking the census in order to apportiori Representatives. — 
Every ten years a census of the population of the United 



The National Government 99 

States is taken in order to readjust representation according 
to the growth or decline of population in each state. Em- 
ployees of the federal government are sent from house to 
house throughout the entire country to get information about 
the number of the people ; and within recent years informa- 
tion about other matters, such as occupations, wealth, in- 
dustry, and crops, has been collected at the same time. There 
is an office in Washington known as the Bureau of the Census 
where this information is all received and tabulated. 

Fixing the number of Representatives. — After each census 
Congress fixes the number of Representatives and then this 
number is divided among the several states on the basis of 
their respective populations. The state legislature must lay 
out the state into districts so that not more than one member 
shall be elected from each, but if the state legislature does 
not do this, all the members (in the case of a new state) or 
the members added by the new apportionment are elected 
" at large " ; that is, by all the voters of the state. In laying 
out districts, the political party in power in the state legisla- 
ture usually does not make the congressional districts equal in 
population, but tries to arrange them so as to get as many 
of its members elected as possible. This practice of out- 
witting the opposite party in arranging congressional dis- 
tricts is known as '' Gerrymandering.'' 

The numbers of voters in the congressional districts are very 
unequal. — It will be noted that the number of Representa- 
tives which each state gets depends upon its population, not 
upon the number of voters ; but the Constitution adds that 
if any state deprives any of its adult male citizens of the vote, 
it shall have its number of Representatives reduced in propor- 
tion. That is, if a state by law excluded one-third of its 
adult male citizens from the vote, it should have one- 
third of its Representatives taken from it. The Southern 
states, as we have seen, have deprived most of the negroes 
of the ballot ; but no attempt is made to enforce this portion 



loo American Citizenship 

of the Constitution (the Fourteenth Amendment) against 
them. Thus it came about in 1912 that one Representative 
from Mississippi was chosen by 3,154 voters, while in a dis- 
trict in CaUfornia where women vote, the Representative 
elected had 20,341 votes, one of his opponents 18,756 votes, 
another opponent 10,585 votes, and a third opponent 4,892 
votes. That is, a defeated candidate from this California 
district got six times as many votes as did the elected member 
from the Mississippi district. 

Election of Representatives. — Members of the House of 
Representatives are elected every two years, in the even 
numbered years, 1914, 1916, 1918; and the election is held 
in every state except Maine on the Tuesday following the 
first Monday in November. In case of a disputed election, 
where two or more persons claim the place, the House itself 
decides the matter after having an investigation by one of its 
three committees on elections. 

Qualifications of the Representative. — A Representative 
must have been a citizen of the United States for at least 
seven years ; he must be twenty-five years of age and an 
inhabitant of the state in which he is chosen. He cannot be 
at the same time an officer of the federal government, and he 
is usually a resident of the congressional district from which 
he is chosen. He is paid a salary of $7500 a year, and he is 
allowed '^ mileage" or traveling expenses at the rate of twenty 
cents a mile to and from Washington. He is also given a 
certain amount for clerk hire, stationery, and other minor 
expenses. 

How the voter takes part in choosing a Representative. — 
Each citizen is a resident of some congressional district 
from which a member of Congress is chosen.^ If the citizen is 
a voter, then he or she is called upon in the auturon of every 

1 The District of Columbia has no Representative in Congress. Hawaii, 
Alaska, and Porto Rico send one delegate each to the House and the Phil- 
ippines two delegates, but they have no vote. 



The National Government 



lOI 



even numbered year to vote for some candidate for that place. 
But before the election the " nomination " takes place ; that 
is, each political party selects its candidate for membership in 
the House of Representatives. The voter takes part as a 
member of his party in making this nomination, either by 
choosing from among a number of party members who 
are '' up for the nomination " at a direct primary (p. 
148), or by voting for one or more delegates to go to a con- 
gressional district convention to make the party's selection for, 
the place. The voter must watch out, therefore, for the 
" primary " at which it is decided who shall be the candidate 
of his party as well as for the election at which the final choice 
is made. 

The Senate. — The Constitution prescribes that there 
shall be two Senators from each state and adds that no state 
shall ever be denied its equal representation without its own 
consent. Senators are not apportioned, therefore, according 
to population, for the very smallest state has an equal repre- 
sentation with the largest. New York State, with a popula- 
tion of nine millions, in round numbers, has one Senator for 
every 4,500,000 ; Nevada, with eighty-one thousand inhabit- 
ants, has one Senator for every 40,000. That is, one voter 
for a United States Senator from Nevada is equal to one 
hundred voters in New York. Nevada has one hundred 
times the representation in the Senate to which it would be 
entitled according to the rule of population. 

The election of Senators. — Another part of the plan of the 
founders of our government for making the Senate more sober 
and conservative and less liable to hasty action was the orig- 
inal provision that Senators should be elected " indirectly " ; 
that is, not by the voters, but by the legislatures of the re- 
spective states. The founders thought that if candidates for 
the Senate were compelled to go out in campaigns and appeal 
to the voters directly for their votes, they would be too much 
in sympathy with popular demands, and would therefore not 



I02 American Citizenship 

be a check on the House at all. There was some objection to 
this plan, even at first, however, and more than seventy-five 
years ago an amendment was proposed in Congress to the 
effect that Senators should be elected directly by the voters 
just as were the governors of the states. The amendment was 
not adopted, and the matter was dropped until after the Civil 
War. The Senate was unwilling to provide for a popular elec- 
tion and defeated the efforts of the House of Representatives 
to pass the amendment until 1911-1912 when it was at last 
carried, submitted to the states for ratification, and in 1913 
became the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution. 
Henceforward, United States Senators are to be elected 
by popular vote. 

The qualifications and terms of Senators, — The Senator 
must be at least thirty years old — five years older than the 
Representative ; he must have been a citizen for nine years 
and he must be an inhabitant of the state that sends him. 

The term of the Senator is six years — three times as long as 
that of the Representative. Moreover, all of the Senators 
are not elected at once as are the members of the House. 
One-third of the Senators are elected every two years, so 
that only one-third of the body is renewed at every election. 

The reason for electing only one-third at a time. — This plan 
for having only one-third of the members elected at one time 
is a part of the general scheme of the framers of the Constitu- 
tion for preventing impulsive action on the part of the legis- 
lature. If all the members of both houses were elected at 
one election, after an exciting campaign, they might come 
together in great fervor and pass many laws without due 
deliberation. As it is, there is always a majority of the mem- 
bers of the Senate already in office and prepared to check 
any hurried action on the part of the Representatives and 
those Senators who have just come in. 



The National Government 103 

Congress at Work 

The meetings of Congress : long and short sessions. — 
Congress meets every year on the first Monday in 
December. The Congress elected in November, 1914, for 
example, meets for its first or '' long " session on the first 
Monday in December, 1915, unless the President calls it 
in a special session (p. 113). This first session of a Con- 
gress lasts until all business on hand is transacted. It 
usually adjourns the following spring or early in the summer, 
but there have been instances of the first session of a Congress 
lasting from December until the following October. The 
second session of the Congress elected in 1914 begins on 
the first Monday in December, 1916, and lasts until the fol- 
lowing March 4th. 

The presiding officers. — In order that it may have 
regular debates and conduct its business in a systematic 
fashion, each house has a presiding officer and a set of rules 
stating how laws shall be passed, debates conducted, and 
votes taken. The Vice President of the United States presides 
over the Senate and has a vote in case there is a tie ; but, in 
the absence of the Vice President, the Senate chooses one of its 
own members to preside. In the House the presiding officer 
is known as the Speaker. He is selected by the '' caucus " 
of the party which has a majority in the House, and his 
nomination is formally approved by the House. The pre- 
siding officer chosen by each house is a member of the polit- 
ical party which has a majority in it. When there is a 
Democratic House, the Speaker is a Democrat. 

The making of laws. — How are laws made by Congress? 
Any member of either house may write out any bill — pro- 
posed law -^ which he wishes passed and introduce it. There 
is one exception to this rule. Senators do not introduce bills 
providing for laying taxes because all such bills must start in 
the House of Representatives, although the Senate can amend 



I04 American Citizenship 

House bills raising money. A member may introduce as 
many bills as he pleases, and more than thirty thousand are 
introduced in every session of Congress. 

The committees of Congress. — When a bill, or draft of a 
law, is introduced in either house, it is referred to a committee. 
It would be impossible for each house to take up in order, as 
introduced, every bill and discuss it. Accordingly, each 
house appoints a large number of committees composed of 
from five to fifteen, or even more, members. It is so ar- 
ranged as to give the political party that has a majority in the 
House of Representatives a majority on each committee of 
the House ; and the same rule is usually followed in the 
Senate. Consequently, each committee is a sort of model of 
the house itself. There is a committee for every important 
group of matters which Congress has to consider. The 
committee on Ways and Means of raising revenue is the 
most important in the House, and a similar committee on 
Finance is the most important in the Senate. 

How the comrnittee handles bills. — When a bill is introduced, 
it is at once put into the hands of the proper committee, 
which decides whether or not the bill shall come before the 
house for debate and passage. The committee has a room of 
its own, with books and papers bearing on the affairs which 
it considers, and it has clerks and sometimes experts to advise 
it on important matters. It may summon private persons to 
tell what they know about any i:)roposed bill and permit them 
to say whether the bill should pass or not and why. If the 
committee decides to report the bill to the house for debate, 
it may report it in the form in which it was introduced or it 
may make changes. If the committee decides against any bill, 
it is almost impossible to get it before the house for debate. 

Voting on hills in the two houses. — When a bill is reported 
from the committee it is discussed on '^ a second reading '* 
in the house for a certain length of time according to the rules, 
and then a vote is taken upon it. In transacting business it is 



The National Government 105 

necessary that there should be a quorum present — at least 
one more than one-half the total number of members. If a 
majority of the quorum present vote '^ aye " on the bill on 
its second and third readings, it is sent to the other house for 
action. It there goes through the same process and if passed 
it is sent to the President for his signature (p. 112). 
If the two houses disagree on a bill, each appoints a 
small number of members to hold a joint conference and come 
to some compromise if possible. It is customary for both 
houses to accept an agreement thus reached by a joint con- 
ference committee. 

The powers of Congress. — Congress has only those powers 
which are given to it by the Constitution (p. 315), and they 
are in the main as follows : 

(a) To lay and collect taxes. 
(6) To regulate foreign and interstate commerce. 
(c) To declare war and maintain an army and navy. 
{d) To create a monetary system, 
(e) To establish post offices and post roads. 
(/) To govern the territories and the District of Columbia. 
{g) To make all laws necessary to carry into effect the powers 
conferred above. 

It is important that the student should know this list of 
powers, but as we shall see below (p. 178, for example) it 
really does not tell us very much about what Congress can 
actually do in any specific case. 

The special powers of the Senate. — While it is apparent 
that the two houses enjoy almost equal rights in lawmaking, 
there are other matters in which their powers are differ- 
ent. The Senate has the power of approving or rejecting 
treaties which the President may make with foreign countries 
(p. 114) ; and the Senate also has the power to exam- 
ine the nominations made by the President to certain high 
offices and to approve or reject them (p. 110). The 
House of Representatives cannot interfere in these matters 



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American Citizenship 



but it can start an action to remove any federal officer, even 
the President himself, by voting to impeach him before the 
Senate. When the House decides to impeach an officer by a 
vote, the officer is tried before the Senate acting very much 
like a court. A committee from the House accuses the 
officer before the Senate of the crimes or misdemeanors in 
question, witnesses are heard, speeches for and against the 
accused are made, and the Senate by a two-thirds vote may 
convict. Conviction amounts to removal from office and 
to disqualification to hold any other federal office. 



The President of the United States 

The election of the President. — The representative of the 
voters of the nation at large is the President. The Vice 
President has so little to do with the government that he 
quite properly receives slight attention. He presides over 
the Senate and may have a taste of power in case there is a 
tie vote on a question, when he decides the matter. A Vice 
President is chosen for the purpose of having another officer 
ready in case the President dies or is incapacitated to act as 
chief executive. 

Why the President is not elected by direct 'popular vote. — 
The President and Vice President are not elected by the 
voters directly. The framers of our Constitution had in 
mind the same idea with regard to the presidency that they 
had with regard to the Senate. They feared stirring up too 
much popular excitement over the election of the President 
in case the voters could cast their ballots directly for candi- 
dates for that high office. They therefore provided for the 
selection of a special body of men (to be chosen in each state 
as the legislature thereof might decide) whose sole business 
it should be to look over the field and very solemnly and 
deliberately discover the best man for President. This 
special body is known as the presidential electoral college, 



The National Government 107 

and each state is entitled to a number of electors equal to its 
number of Representatives and Senators at Washington 
(p. 98). 

How presidential electors are chosen. — At first many of the 
state legislatures chose the presidential electors without 
referring the matter to the voters at all; but after a time 
every state provided that its presidential electors should all 
be elected on a general ticket by the voters. That is, if a 
state is entitled to ten electors because it has eight Repre- 
sentatives and two Senators, every voter is given the right 
to vote for ten persons on the same ticket. In fact each 
of the political parties in every state selects a complete list 
of electors for the state, and the voters, in voting the party 
ticket, simply approve the entire list thus prepared. 

The nomination of presidential candidates. — The most 
important preliminary to the election of the President is the 
nomination. Every four years, in the summer before the 
election, each party holds a national convention com- 
posed of several hundred delegates apportioned among the 
several states, and chosen by the party members, either 
directly or indirectly; and the convention selects the mem- 
bers of the party who are to be the candidates for President 
and Vice President. Then in each state the party fixes up a 
list of candidates for the office of presidential elector, all of 
whom, it is known in advance, will vote for the man selected 
by the convention as the party's choice for President. Thus 
by a very roundabout way we have something like a popular 
election of the President. The method is the same, of course, 
for the Vice President. 

The presidential primary. — In order to put the choice of 
President more directly into the hands of the voters, several 
states have set up what are called '' presidential preference 
primaries " which permit party members not only to select 
delegates to the national convention but also to say whom 
they want their national convention to nominate. This 



io8 American Citizenship 

system was tried in Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, 
Oregon, and a few other states in the campaign of 1912, and 
some people are so bold as to prophesy that the national con- 
vention will be abolished soon, or at least become a mere 
assembly for registering the choice made by the party voters 
at the primaries. 

The campaign. — After the nomination is made by the 
party, the national committee of each party begins the cam- 
paign to win the election. It appoints, with the advice of the 
candidate for President, a chairman and a treasurer to man- 
age the campaign and raise funds to pay expenses. A million 
dollars or more is usually spent in a campaign by each of the 
old parties, and the sums of money raised from rich men to 
defray the expenses are so enormous as to constitute a grave 
menace (p. 156) ; for the practice gives undue strength 
to the party with the longest purse. 

The 'presidential election. — The voter on the day of a 
presidential election (Tuesday following the first Monday in 
November every four years, 1916, 1920, etc.) does not in fact, 
however, vote for nominees for President and Vice President, 
although their names appear on the ballot under the emblem 
of his party. He chooses from the candidates for presi- 
dential electors, whose names have been placed on the ballot 
by the respective political parties. At the presidential elec- 
tion there is chosen in each state a number of electors equal to 
the number of Senators and Representatives of that state in 
Congress. The party which has the most votes secures all of 
the electors, for usually the voter votes for all the candidates 
for elector nominated by his party and only under exceptional 
circumstances are presidential electors chosen from more 
than one political party in the same state. 

Casting and counting the electoral vote. — The electors of 
each state meet at the state capitol on the second Monday 
in January following the November election and cast their 
ballots for the nominees of their party for President and Vice 



The National Government 109 

President. The copies of ballots thus cast by the electors of 
the several states are then sent to the President of the Senate 
of the United States. On the second Wednesday in February 
following, the president of the Senate in the presence of the 
Senators and Representatives in joint session opens the 
ballots, and they are counted. The two candidates for Presi- 
dent and Vice President having a majority respectively are 
declared to be elected. The inauguration follows on March 
4th. 

Disputed elections. — In case, however, no candidate 
receives a majority of the electoral votes for President, the 
House of Representatives must choose, by majority vote, a 
President from among the three candidates standing highest 
in the election, and when the House so elects, all of the Repre- 
sentatives from each state have only one vote. How that is 
to be cast they must decide for themselves. In case no one 
receives a majority for Vice President, the choice of that 
officer is made by the Senate, each Senator having one vote. 
There have been two instances of such elections of President : 
in 1800 when Jefferson and Burr were tied, and in 1824 when 
there were four candidates who received electors' votes and 
John Q. Adams was chosen by the House. 

The qualifications, term, and pay of the President. — The 
President must be thirty-five years old, a native-born citizen 
of the United States, and fourteen years a resident of the 
United States. His term of office is four years, and he may 
be reelected for any number of terms, although custom has 
decreed that no President shall have more than two terms 
~ at least in succession. The President's salary is $75,000 
a year, and he is given the use of the Executive Mansion, or 
White House as it is known, and a considerable sum of 
money for traveling and other expenses. The Vice President 
is paid $12,000 a year but is not furnished a house free of 
charge. 



no American Citizenship 

The President at Work 

The President has two kinds of duties to perform : (a) 
those laid upon him by law, and (b) those which he chooses 
to undertake as a man and as the leader of the political party 
which placed him in power. 

Appointing federal officers. — One of the most difficult 
tasks confronting a new President on his inauguration is the 
appointing of several thousand officers in the federal govern- 
ment. There are in all about 400,000 federal officers, but a 
majority of these are selected by competitive examinations. 
There are only about 10,000 officers who are appointed by 
the President himself, usually with the consent of the Senate. 
The most important of these are the following : 

The ten members of his Cabinet. 

Federal judges (when there are vacancies). 

Postmasters in the more important towns and cities. 

Collectors of customs at the ports. 

District attorneys. 

Ambassadors, consuls, and other representatives of the 
United States abroad. 

Heads of important bureaus in Washington, like the Com- 
missioner of Immigration and the Director of the Census. 

The civil service law of 1883. — In older days it was cus- 
tomary for a new President to turn out of office those who did 
not belong to his political party, and, whenever parties 
changed, the whole army of federal employees was dismissed. 
The practice of distributing offices among political colleagues 
is known as the '' spoils system." Since the passage of the 
civil service law of 1883, however, it has been a steadily 
growing practice to appoint minor officers, such as railway 
mail clerks, and clerks in government offices at Washington, 
on a basis of merit tested by examination rather than on a 
basis of party membership. That is, candidates for such 




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The National Government 



III 



places are selected after a competitive examination ; they 
hold their offices during good behavior; and they are not 
removed simply to make room for persons belongmg to 
another party. At the present time over 200,000 govern- 
ment employees are under such civil service rules. 

The troubles of the President in making appointments. — 
Notwithstanding the reduction in the number of offices to 
which the President must appoint, it is a very troublesome 
task and takes up a good portion of the first year of his term of 
service. There are so many candidates for every place that 
the President is literally besieged at his office by them and by 
members of Congress supporting their friends who seek ap- 
pointments. The President must not only get good men,buthe 
must smooth out confficts in his party by giving each faction 
some ^' plums" as they are called; he must recognize all 
parts of the country by selecting the officers from all sections ; 
and he must not stir up too much opposition from labor 
unions or from employers. It is made especially difficult by 
the fact that the President has the power to remove the 
federal officers whom he appoints, and whenever there is any 
objection to the way a federal officer acts there is likely to 
be a clamor for his removal and the appointment of some 

one else. . 

The President must enforce the law. — A second impor- 
tant duty laid upon the President is the enforcement of the 
federal law. This he does in several ways : (a) by requiring 
the men whom he appoints to office to do their duty well and 
faithfully ; (h) by having the Attorney-general and other fed- 
eral prosecutors (p. 118) start suits in the courts against 
those who break the federal law; and (c) by using the 
soldiers of the United States to enforce the laws when the 
regular civil officers are resisted by mobs. 

Pardoning offenders against the federal laws. — Akin to 
the duty of enforcing the law is the power of pardoning per- 
sons who commit crimes against the United States — steal 



112 American Citizenship 

mail, make couuterfeit money, or smuggle in goods without 
paying customs duties, among other things. In this matter 
the President has a free hand. He may be generous or hard- 
hearted, as he chooses. When a prisoner applies for pardon, 
the President has an officer look up the case and see whether 
the applicant deserves mercy or whether the court was too 
harsh in imposing punishment. 

The President as military commander. — It is the duty of 
the President to act as commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States. He cannot declare war — that 
power is given to Congress alone — but when war is declared 
he must supervise the movements of the armed forces on 
land and sea (p. 206). Moreover, whenever the legis- 
lature of a state (or the governor, if the legislature is not 
in session) calls upon the President for aid in putting down 
riot, it is the duty of the President to respond by sending 
federal soldiers to the scene of trouble. 

The President and Congress : the message. — We now 
come to the second group of duties which the President may 
perform more to his own liking and with more freedom of 
choice. How he performs them depends upon his personal 
views of what he ought to do as a man and leader of his 
party. The first of these is the duty of sending messages to 
Congress. It is true the Constitution says that the President 
'' shall " do this, but the way in which he does it depends 
upon himself. He may write short messages of no conse- 
quence or interest, or he may stir up the whole country by 
demanding that Congress pass certain important laws or 
make important amendments to the Constitution. By using 
this power of sending messages in a proper way he may win so 
much popular support that Congress may be compelled to 
pass laws to which it is secretly opposed. 

The use of the veto power. — Closely connected with this 
power of sending messages to Congress is the power of veto- 
ing bills passed by Congress (p. 105). This power was 



The National Government 113 

given to the President because it was believed that he should 
check the legislature in case it enacted too radical laws. 
As we have seen, every bill passed by Congress must be signed 
by the President unless he chooses to allow it to become a law 
without his approval — which happens when he fails to act 
within ten days (unless Congress adjourns meantime). If 
the President does not like a law, he can veto it and send it 
back to the house in which it originated with any comments 
he may wish to make. When he vetoes a bill it cannot be- 
come a law unless two-thirds of both houses pass it again. 

Through a free use of the veto, a President may block as 
many measures as he pleases and call the attention of the 
public to the way Congress is acting. Of course, he cannot 
go too far because he is dependent upon Congress for the 
money with which to carry on the government; but it is 
clear that an easy-going President need not use this power at 
all, while a strenuous President, who thinks he is bound by 
his duty to his party or to the country to stop certain laws 
from being passed, may become a great power at Washington. 
By threatening to veto some measures which Congress wants 
he may force that body to pass bills which he recommends in 
his messages. By using these means the President may in 
fact exercise large legislative powers. 

Special sessions of Congress. — Akin to the power of sending 
messages and vetoing laws is that of calling Congress in a 
special session. The President may do this at any time and 
compel Congress to consider some important matter about 
which he thinks a law should be made. For example, if 
Congress should fail to pass a law recommended by the Presi- 
dent at the regular session, and adjourn without paying any 
attention to his recommendations, he may call the members 
back soon and tell them to take up the matter again. Of 
course Congress does not have to obey the demand for a law, 
and it may adjourn again without acting ; but if the President 
has great popular support. Congress will take the President's 



114 American Citizenship 

suggestions very seriously. As a matter of fact, however, the 
President does not call special sessions without consulting 
the leaders in Congress. So it happens that a special session 
is usually called only after an agreement has been reached 
between the President and the party managers in Congress. 

How treaties are made. — The President may make treaties 
with foreign countries, but they do not go into effect until 
approved by a two-thirds vote in the Senate. A treaty is an 
agreement with a foreign nation about some matter of 
common interest ; such as, the treatment of our citizens 
abroad and of foreign subjects in the United States or the 
fisheries off the coast of North America or plans for settling 
disputes without going to war. The President alone can start 
a treaty ; no one can compel him to take up the negotiation 
of any agreement with a foreign power ; and no one can pre- 
vent him from making a treaty. But of course it does not 
go into force until the Senate approves. The Senate may 
amend treaties sent to it by the President, and in such cases 
the President must ask the foreign countries concerned 
whether the changes are acceptable, unless he decides to 
drop the matter altogether. Sometimes there is a dispute 
between the President and the Senate over treaties ; for 
example, President Taft favored a treaty with Great Britain 
providing a plan for settling practically all future quarrels by 
peaceful arbitration, while the Senate refused to approve his 
plan. 

The President may recognize foreign countries. — The 
Senate cannot itself, however, force the President to accept 
any plans for treaties with foreign countries. The President 
is the spokesman of the nation in dealing with other powers. 
He receives their ambassadors and ministers, and in fact he 
can refuse to recognize a foreign government if he pleases. 
A great many changes have taken place in Europe and South 
America since we became a nation. Monarchies like Portu- 
gal and China have become republics, and when new govern- 



The National Government 115 

ments are set up they seek recognition from other countries : 
admittance to the family of nations, so to speak. The 
President may say to such a country : '' I do not recognize 
your existence in the new form, and I will not receive your 
ambassador." Or he may say : " I am happy to say that 
the United States (whatever other countries may do) wel- 
comes you into the family of nations." 

The President's helpers. — The President cannot know 
everything about the government and do everything him- 
self. He has therefore ten official advisers who are together 
called his Cabinet. These advisers are known as the Secre- 
taries of State, War, Treasury, Navy, Interior, Agriculture, 
Commerce, Labor, the Attorney-general, and the Postmaster- 
general. 

The Cabinet and the President. — Cabinet officers are 
appointed by the President ; the Senate, although it has the 
power of confirming, regards the selection of the Cabinet as the 
President's own affair and does not interfere. The President 
can remove cabinet members without asking the consent of 
any one. Although they are given more or less discretion in 
managing their own affairs, they are answerable to him in the 
performance of their duties, and the country holds the Presi- 
dent responsible for important policies adopted by them and 
even for speeches made by them on live issues. 

The Cabinet and Congress. — While the members of the 
Cabinet are thus in a sense the President's responsible advisers, 
they are by no means independent of Congress. Congress 
decides how many and what cabinet offices shall exist and the 
salaries and duties attached. Congress decides how many 
officers shall be appointed under each cabinet officer and what 
they shall do. Congress may take away the duties of one 
secretary and give them to another. The power thus enjoyed 
by Congress compels the secretaries to look to that body for 
many favors ; such as, increases in salaries of departmental 
employees, the creation of new divisions or bureaus within 



ii6 . American Citizenship 

the department charged with new duties, or the appropria- 
tion of money to carry on new work or investigations. 

Congress might control the Cabinet. — If Congress saw fit, 
therefore, it might tie the cabinet officers down very closely 
and not give them much freedom in managing their affairs. 
At all events, although the cabinet officers are the President's 
advisers, neither they nor the President can do anything 
forbidden to them by the law or anything important which is 
not authorized by Congress. For example, there was recently 
established a Children's Bureau to study the problems of 
children in the United States. Neither the President nor any 
cabinet officer could have done this. Congress had to pass a 
law creating it and providing the money for its expenses. 
It also added this bureau to the responsibilities of the Depart- 
ment of Labor. If the President wanted a Secretary of 
Railways, for example, he could not just name one himself, 
and draw on the Treasury for the salary. 

The distribution of work in each department. — The work 
allotted to each department of the federal government is 
divided out among a number of bureaus, divisions, and 
offices, all subject more or less to the direction of the secre- 
tary. For example, in the Department of the Interior, there 
are the general land office in charge of the granting and sale 
of public lands, the pension office, the geological survey en- 
gaged in locating and estimating the natural resources of the 
United States, the bureau of forestry, and several other 
divisions. Whenever the federal government decides to 
undertake some new work, it gives the task to a bureau or 
division already created, or it forms a new bureau or division 
to take charge of the enterprise. There are, however, two 
important branches of the federal government which are not 
under the supervision of a cabinet officer : the civil service 
commission, which aids the President in enforcing the civil 
service law (p. 110), and the interstate commerce com- 
mission. 



The National Government 117 

The Judicial Branch of the Federal Government 

The federal courts. — We have spoken of the judiciary as 
a distinct branch of the government in the section about the 
division of powers (p. 89). It now remains to say a few 
words about the federal courts, in particular, although we 
must be brief, because this is a difficult and troublesome sub- 
ject except for those who can give years to the study of the 
law. Indeed, it is only necessary for the citizen to know a few 
important facts about the courts, unless he is often involved in 
disputes about property or is Hkely to be arrested for crime, 
and even then he will depend upon a lawyer for advice and 
information. Those important facts we shall try to make 
very clear. 

The power of Congress over the federal courts. — In the first 
place, we have a set of federal courts quite distinct from the 
state and local courts. Only one of these courts, the Supreme 
Court, is mentioned in the Constitution ; all the other federal 
courts are created by Congress, and even the number of mem- 
bers and work of the Supreme Court are matters determined 
by Congress. Congress decides how many Supreme Court 
judges there shall be; where federal courts shall be set up 
throughout the United States ; how many such courts there 
shall be in each state ; how many judges shall be appointed 
to each court ; and what federal cases (with minor excep- 
tions) shall be heard by each court. Congress cannot, 
however, say how Supreme Court judges shall be appointed; 
that power is given to the President and Senate by the Con- 
stitution. In fact, all federal judges are appointed by the 
President and Senate, and they hold their offices for life, un- 
less removed by impeachment. 

How the federal courts are brought near to the citizen. — In 
order that federal judges may be near at hand for the citizen. 
Congress has laid the whole country out into about eighty 
districts, and in each district has provided for one or more 



ii8 American Citizenship 

federal district judges to hear disputes and try men accused of 
crime against the federal government. Each district court 
has a district attorney who prosecutes criminals and a federal 
marshal who carries out the order of the court. These 
officers are also appointed by the President and Senate. In 
order that serious matters may be retried in higher courts, 
Congress has laid the county out into nine great circuits, and 
in each circuit has placed a federal circuit court of appeals. 
At the top of the system is the Supreme Court at Washing- 
ton, composed of nine judges, whose business it is to hear, 
among others, those cases in which it is claimed that acts 
of Congress are unconstitutional (p. 90) ^ 

What matters go into federal courts. — These federal 
courts, it is important to remember, attend to federal affairs 
only (see the Constitution, p. 319). If a man breaks 
into a jewelry store and steals a watch, the United States 
marshal will not arrest him, or if he should arrest the burglar 
and take him before a federal judge, the latter would say, '' I 
have no jurisdiction over this crime; it is not committed 
against the United States. This is a matter for the city, 
county, or village court, as the case may be." If, however, a 
man smuggles in goods from Canada, it is the business of the 
United States marshal or a special federal detective in the 
customs service to catch him and take him into a federal dis- 
trict court for trial. Again, if a man wishes to sue a neighbor 
who has sold him a house on a misrepresentation, the federal 
courts will not try the case ; but if he wishes to sue a person 
residing in another state, he may take the case into a federal 
court if he likes. The line of division between the state and 
federal courts is hard to draw, and not one person in a thou- 
sand need ever know about it in detail. 




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The National Government 119 



Questions 

1. What is the Constitution of the United States? What are 
its main divisions ? 

2. How may the Constitution be amended ? 

3. Describe the composition of Congress. 

4. How are Representatives chosen ? How are Senators chosen ? 

5. Why do Senators retain their office for a longer term than 
Congressmen ? 

6. What is a gerrymander ? 

7. How are laws made by Congress ? 

8. What are the powers of Congress ? 

9. What is the difference in the powers of the two houses of 
Congress ? 

10. What control does the political party have over the selection 
of the President ? 

11. What are the duties of the president ? 

12. Does he have legislative power ? 

13. What is the spoils system ? 

14. Tell all you can about the Cabinet and its relation to 
Congress. 

15. Describe the distribution and work of the federal courts. 



Additional Reading 

Formation and Development of the Constitution : Kaye, 

Readings in Civil Government, pp. 31-73 ; Beard, American 

Government, pp. 34-77. 
The Federal System op Government : Bryce, American Common- 
wealth, Vol. I, pp. 312-408; Beard, American Governmenty 

pp. 145-165. 
Nomination and Election of the President : Beard, American 

Government, pp. 165-186 ; Readings, 154-175 ; Jones, Readings 

on Parties and Elections, pp. 80-106. 
The Electoral College: Jones, Readings, pp. 115-118. 
The Presidency: Beard, American Government, pp. 187-214; 

Readings, 176-196 ; Bryce, Vol. I, pp. 38-84 ; Kaye, Readings, 

pp. 184-210. 
Congress : Beard, American Government, pp. 231-293 ; Readings, pp. 

214-272; Bryce, Vol. I, pp. 97-209; Kaye, Readings, pp. 

129-183; Haskin, The National Government, pp. 248-286. 



I20 



American Citizenship 



The Federal Judiciary : Beard, American Government, pp. 294- 
315; Readings, pp. 273-290; Bryee, Vol. I, pp. 229-277; 
Kaye, Readings, pp. 243-260; Haskin, The National Govern- 
ment, pp. 312-361. 

The Cabinet: Beard, American Government, pp. 215-230; Bryce, 
Vol. I, pp. 85-96; Kaye, Readings, pp. 211-242. 

Senatorial Elections : Jones, Readings, pp. 125-141. 

Elections to the House of Representatives : Jones, Readings, 
pp. 147-164. 



CHAPTER IX 
STATE GOVERNMENT 

I. The state is not a federation. 

1. How the voters of the state may provide for the govern- 

ment of any section of the state. 

2. Constitutional law. 

II. The parts of a state constitution. 

III. The state legislature. 

1. The legislative districts of the state. 

2. The election of members of the state legislature. 

3. The legislature at work. 

4. Powers of the state legislature. 

IV. The executive department of the state. 
i. The minor state officers. 

2. The position of the governor and of the President compared. 

3. The legislative business of the governor. 

4. The governor's executive duties. 
V. The state supreme court. 



The state is not a federation. — Although many writers 
sharply divide the government within each state into central 
or state, municipal, and local government, it should be remem- 
bered always that the state is not a federation of counties, 
cities, and villages, as the United States is a federation of 
states. The Congress of the United States, for example, has no 
power to say how a state shall be governed, how long a gov- 
ernor shall serve, or whether there shall be one or two houses in 
the state legislature. The legislature of the state, however, 
can usually (see Home Rule, p. 130) decide how many 
members there shall be in all the city councils within the state, 
what salaries county commissioners shall be paid, and how 



121 



122 American Citizenship 

long mayors shall serve. The voters of a state can set up 
any kind of central, city, or local government which they 
please, as long as they do not do something which the Con- 
stitution of the United States expressly forbids. 

How the voters of the state may provide for the government 
of any section of the state. — The voters of a state organize 
their central, city, and local governments in three ways : by 
establishing a state constitution in which are written down 
many things about the way the affairs of the state shall be 
managed ; by laws passed by the legislature acting under the 
constitution so established ; and by town, city, and county 
by-laws and ordinances. To find out, for instance, how we 
are governed in any particular city, it is necessary to look 
into the state constitution, into laws passed by the state 
legislature, and into ordinances adopted by the city council. 
For this reason it is important to think of the state as a whole 
rather than to view it as made up of many smaller parts. 

Constitutional law. — The essential difference between a 
state constitution and any law passed by the legislature is 
this : the constitution is supposed to be a higher law, more 
solemnly deliberated upon than any ordinary act of the legis- 
lature, and it cannot be changed by the legislature but only 
by some particular method of amendment laid down in the 
constitution itself. The usual methods of changing the state 
constitution are as follows : by a convention especially elected 
subject to popular approval ; by an act of the legislature ap- 
proved by the voters at the polls ; and in a few states by 
the initiative and referendum, which are described later. 

The parts of a state constitution. — At the beginning of a 
study of the state government, it is necessary that we should 
look into the constitution of the state. We shall find that it 
falls into several parts : 

(1) It says that there are certain rights which all citizens 
shall enjoy ; such as, trial by jury and freedom of religious 
worship. 



State Government 123 

(2) It says who shall have the right to vote. 

(3) It fixes the number of members of the legislature and 
tells in general how the two houses shall work. 

(4) It forbids the legislature to do a large number of things. 

(5) It tells how the governor shall be elected and what 
powers he shall have. 

(6) It names a number of central and local officers who 
shall be elected or appointed, and states what they shall do in 
a general way. 

(7) It contains some rules about the way in which cities, 
counties, and towns shall be governed, leaving the rest to the 
legislature or the people of the locality to settle for themselves. 

There are many other matters mentioned in some state 
constitutions, and it would be an excellent idea for you to take 
the constitution of your state and compare it with this table. 

The state legislature. — Each state has the three branches 
of government which we have described already (p. 84) : a 
legislature, an executive department, and a judicial depart- 
ment. Each of our states has two houses in the legislature, 
a lower house, known as the Assembly or the House of Repre- 
sentatives or by some other name, and an upper house, called 
the Senate. There is no such marked difference between 
the two bodies in the theory of representation as we 
found between the Senate and the House at Washington 
(p. 98). United States Senators represent states, and each 
state has the same number, no matter how many inhabitants 
dwell within its borders; but state senators represent dis- 
tricts within the state, and these districts are usually laid out 
in such a fashion as to make them all roughly equal. The 
state senator is generally older than the member of the lower 
house and elected for a longer term. The upper house is also 
smaller than the lower house, so that the senator represents a 
larger district than the assemblyman. 

The legislative districts of the state. — Both houses are 
elected by the same voters. That is, any person who can 



124 



American Citizenship 



vote for a member of the lower chamber can vote for a senator 
as well. Thus each voter resides in two legislative districts : 
the larger sending a senator and the smaller a member of the 
lower house. We have said that these districts are roughly 
equal, but we should remark that the equality is very rough 
indeed. In Connecticut, for example, every town has one or 
two representatives in the lower house, no matter how many 
inhabitants it has. So it comes about that a little town with 
a handful of voters has a member in the legislature, while 
another town with several hundred voters may have only one 
member. You may find out how fairly divided your state is 
by getting from the secretary of state the annual publication, 
which usually gives the names of the members of your legisla- 
ture and the number of votes cast in each district. It would 
be an interesting study to find out whether a voter in your 
own district counts for as much or for more than a voter in 
some other district. 

The election of members of the state legislature. — Every 
year or two the voters in your district are called upon to 
choose a representative for the lower house and a state senator. 
In the summer before the election each of the political parties 
picks out its candidates. The party does this either (a) by 
holding a convention at some town or city, to which are sent 
delegates from small localities, townships, or precincts, as the 
case may be, who are chosen by party members ; or (6) by 
having a party election called a direct primary. If the direct 
primary method is used, no convention is held at all, but any 
member of the party may run for the nomination and have 
his name put on the party ballot. At the primary day the 
party members choose, from among those running for the 
nomination, the candidate to be put up against the candidates 
of the other parties. Thus the whole party is supposed to be 
behind its candidate. The voter at the regular election, 
therefore, usually has no other choice than between the can- 
didates of the two or three or more parties. Of course, any 



State Government 125 

voter not a member of a party may run for the legislature, on 
an independent ticket if he likes, by getting up a petition 
signed by a certain number of voters, and thus having his name 
put on the ballot with the names of the candidates of the 
parties. 

The legislature at worh. — The legislature meets every year 
or two at the state capitol and makes laws. It works very 
much in the same way as the Congress at Washington. The 
lieutenant 'governor, if there is one, like the Vice President, 
presides over the senate, and the lower chamber chooses a 
speaker. Bills are introduced, referred to committees, 
debated, and voted upon as at Washington (p. 103). And 
laws passed by the legislature are submitted to the gov- 
ernor to sign or veto, except in the single state of North 
Carolina, where the governor has no veto power. 

Powers of the state legislature. — As to the powers of the 
state legislature and the Congress of the United States, there 
is this fundamental difference : the former may do anything 
that is not forbidden by the state constitution (or the federal 
Constitution), while the latter can do only those things which 
the federal Constitution authorizes it to do. 

The executive department of the state. — The chief 
executive of the state is the governor. He is elected by popu- 
lar vote for two or four years (Massachusetts one year and 
New Jersey three years) . As in the case of all other elections, 
a nomination of candidates is made by the various political 
parties, in advance. This choice of the party candidate for 
governor is made in one of two ways : by a convention or by 
the direct primary. If the convention method is used, the 
party members, at a primary election, choose delegates to go 
to the state party convention, and there agree upon a candi- 
date for governor, and at the same convention other state 
officers, such as the lieutenant governor and the secretary of 
state, are nominated. In a majority of states, such as Oregon, 
Wisconsin, and Oklahoma, the party convention has been 



12.6 American Citizenship 

abolished and the party candidates for state offices are chosen 
by a direct primary ; that is, at an election within the party, 
at which party members have a chance to vote directly for the 
man whom they would like to see as their party candidate 
for governor. The aspirant for office has his name put on 
the primary ballot usually by presenting a petition signed by 
a certain number of the members of his party. 

The minor state officers. — The executive department 
generally includes the following chief elective officers in addi- 
tion to the governor : 

(1) A lieutenant governor, who presides over the senate 
and may become governor in case of the death or resigna- 
tion of the latter. 

(2) A treasurer, who guards the money of the state. 

(3) An auditor or comptroller, who keeps the accounts. 

(4) An attorney-general, who advises the governor on 
points of law, prosecutes offenders against the state, and 
defends the state when it is sued. 

(5) A secretary, who keeps the records of the state and 
compiles election returns. 

(6) Sometimes railway commissioners, a surveyor and 
engineer, and other officers. 

The position of the governor and President compared. — We 
have said that the governor is the chief executive of the 
state, but this is not true in the sense that the President is 
the chief executive of the United States. The governor 
has no cabinet ; the high officers of the state, like the secre- 
tary, the treasurer, the auditor, and the attorney-general, are 
not under the governor. He does not appoint them, and he 
cannot remove them. Their duties are fixed by the law and 
they are as independent within their offices as the governor 
himself. They are almost always elected by the voters 
just as the governor is elected, and their responsibility, as far 
as they have any, is to the voters, not to the governor. 
They may be, and often are, of a different party, and may 



State Government 127 

conduct their business in a way that does not suit the 
governor at all. 

The legislative business of the governor. — In fact, as things 
stand now, the governor is more concerned with making laws 
than enforcing them, although in times of riots and violence 
he is responsible for the use of the militia in maintaining 
order. The governor's connection with lawmaking arises, 
like that of the President, from the power to send mes- 
sages, to veto laws, and to call special sessions of the legis- 
lature. The voters of the state are coming more and more 
to look upon the governor as their agent, charged with secur- 
ing certain laws and with preventing the enactment of other 
laws. The governor now feels called upon to recommend 
to the legislature the important measures which his party 
advocated in the election campaign ; and, if the legislature 
refuses to accept his recommendations, he may " take the 
stump" —that is, go about the state making speeches, stirring 
up the voters to urge their representatives in the legislature 
to accept his plans. The legislature is likely to be wasteful 
and extravagant in spending the state's money, and the 
voters look to the governor to veto appropriations which 
he thinks unnecessary. Hence it has come about that the 
governor's chief business is legislative rather than executive. 
Like the President, he may call a special session of the leg- 
islature to consider anything which he lays before it, and 
this is a powerful tool in his hands, — a whip, so to speak, 
which he can hold over the lawmakers. 

The governor's executive duties. — Of course, the governor 
does have some executive duties. He appoints quite a 
number of important state officers, such as superintendents 
of prisons and other institutions, sometimes the commis- 
sioners who supervise railways, or the superintendent of edu- 
cation. He must usually, however, secure the consent of one 
or both branches of the legislature to such appointments. He 
is the head of the state militia, and may use it on important 



128 American Citizenship 

occasions when a riot gets the better of the local police. He 
may pardon criminals, but frequently he shares this power 
with a board of pardons. But with all this it can hardly be 
said that the governor is responsible for the way the laws 
are enforced within the state. He cannot compel the prose- 
cutors, state and local, to go after lawbreakers on pain of 
instant removal from office. And heads of the important 
departments who are elected by popular vote may ignore 
his orders. 

The state supreme court. — Every state has a high or 
supreme court composed of three or more judges. In most 
states, these judges are elected by the voters for a term of 
years. In a few commonwealths, however, they are ap- 
pointed by the governor and senate or by the legislature. 
It is the business of this high court, sometimes known as 
the supreme court or the court of appeals, to hear cases 
appealed from the lower courts — the county and city courts. 
It, too, has the power to declare acts of the state legislature 
null and void on the ground that they transgress either the 
state or the federal constitution. If a state court declares 
that a state law is void because it is contrary to the federal 
Constitution, there is no appeal to the Supreme Court of 
the United States. The other courts we shall consider 
below when we take up city and local government. 



Questions 

1. What is the composition of the state legislature? 

2. What part does the political party play in selecting state 
representatives ? 

3. What is the difference between the powers of Congress and 
those of the state legislature ? 

4. What is the direct primary ? 

5. Who has the greater executive power : the president or the 
governor ? Why ? 

6. Does the governor have any legislative power ? In what way ? 



State Government 129 



Additional Reading 

The Constitutional Basis of State Government: Beard, 
American Government and Politics, pp. 428-457; Readings, 
pp. 391-410; Bryee, American Commonwealth, Vol. I, pp. 
411-426. 

The State Executive Department: Beard, American Govern- 
ment, pp. 488-515; Readings, pp. 431-^56; Bryce, Vol. I, 
pp. 498-506. 

The Legislature: Beard, pp. 516-546; Readings, pp. 457-487; 
Bryce, Vol. I, pp. 481-497; McCarthy, The Wisconsin Idea, 
pp. 194-232. 

The State Judiciary: Beard, pp. 547-577; Readings, pp. 488- 
508; Bryce, Vol. I, pp. 507-517; McCarthy, pp. 233-272. 

The Value of State Administrative Experts: McCarthy, 
pp. 172-193. 



CHAPTER X 
THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 

I. Home rule for cities. 
II. The city council. 

1. The powers of the city council. 

2. Limits on the powers of the city council. 
III. The mayor of the city. 

IV. The departments of city government. 
V. Civil service rules for cities. 
VI. The city courts. 

1. Importance of police courts. 

2. How the judge may help offenders. 

3. Some new special city courts. 
VII. National polities and local elections. 

1. The nonpartisan election. 
VIII. Recent changes in American city government. 

1. Commission government for cities. 

2. The city manager plan. 

3. Direct democracy in cities. 



Home Rule for cities. — The legislature of the state may 
decide what kind of government any or all of the cities within 
the borders of the state must have, unless the state consti- 
tution otherwise provides. State legislatures have inter- 
fered so much with cities and so unfairly that many states, 
Ohio, Missouri, Oregon, and California, for instance, have 
adopted what is called Home Rule — that is, the cities within 
those states may decide for themselves (within limits) what 
kind of government they prefer. Where this system is in 
vogue, the voters of the city may choose a charter-drafting 
board to draw up a plan of city government which goes 

130 



The Government of Cities 131 

into effect when approved by the voters. Thus, for 
example, a city in Ohio may choose to be governed by a 
mayor and council, or by a commission or board of three or 
five men, or in almost any other way that it chooses. 
As times goes on, more and more states are adopting this 
Home Rule system. Where it does not prevail the legis- 
lature of the state makes the charter or law governing the 
city. The charter is a sort of constitution. 

The city council. — As we might expect, there are all kinds 
of city governments in the United States ; but amid the 
bewildering variety we can see certain general plans. Like 
the state, every city has a lawmaking body — a little legis- 
lature which makes rules, called ordinances, for the govern- 
ment of the people of the city. This legislature is known as 
the city council or board of aldermen or commission. It 
may be elected in two ways. The city may be divided into 
districts, or wards, like the state, and one or more members 
elected from each district ; or all the members may be elected 
at large ; that is, by all the voters of the city. Where this 
last method is followed, each voter can ballot for as many 
men as there are members of the council, instead of just for 
one or two from his little district. A few cities have two- 
chamber councils like the Congress at Washington or the 
state legislature; but this idea is going out of fashion for 
cities and they are abandoning it. 

The powers of the city council. — The powers of the city 
council are important. Unless otherwise arranged, it de- 
cides in general how much money shall be raised by taxa- 
tion and for what purposes it shall be spent. It grants 
franchises to companies to operate street-car lines, gas 
works, and other public utilities within the city, and it some- 
times regulates the prices to be charged. It makes ordi- 
nances about the use of the streets, parks, and public build- 
ings, about factories, theaters, and tenements, and about 
matters dangerous to life and health. 



132 American Citizenship 

Limits on the powers of the city council. — But it should 
be noted that the powers of the city council are limited in 
many ways. In the first place the right to make the esti- 
mates for the amount of money to be spent is, in some places, 
taken away from the council and given to the mayor, or comp- 
troller, or a special board. In such cities, the council may 
reduce the amount proposed by the mayor or board, but it 
cannot increase it. The mayor has a veto power also. The 
regulation of matters like factories, tenements, and theaters 
is being done more and more by the state legislature, in 
spite of the home rule idea which we have just mentioned. 
Furthermore, city after city is adopting the initiative 
and referendum plan which allows the voters to make their 
own ordinances, or nullify any ordinance adopted by the 
city council. How this is done we shall explain in Chap- 
ter XII. 

The mayor of the city. — The chief executive of the city 
is the mayor, and in our big cities, like Boston, New York, 
Chicago, and San Francisco, his position is more like that 
of the President than that of the governor. That is, he has 
the power of appointing very many of the chief officers, like 
the commissioners of the police, fire, street cleaning, park, 
and other departments. Where he has this power, he is 
of course personally responsible for the conduct of the city's 
business. If it is run badly, it is because he has appointed 
incapable men, and inasmuch as he can remove them when 
he likes, continuous bad management is his fault. This 
" mayor plan " of city government is very popular because 
it enables the citizen to know whose fault it is if the laws 
are poorly carried out. 

The departments of city government. — The executive 
business of the city — the collecting and disbursing of 
money, the building, repairing, and cleaning of the streets, 
fighting fires, protecting health, educating the children, 
supervising the waterworks and other plants which the 



The Government of Cities 133 

city owns, the regulating of private car lines and other 
utilities, and keeping order and arresting criminals — is 
divided up among several officers and departments, the num- 
ber of which depends upon the size of the city. In some 
cities, the officers and department heads are appointed by 
the mayor ; in others, by the council ; and in others, some 
are elected by popular vote. It is, indeed, quite common 
to have the school board, which manages the city's schools, 
elected by the voters. 

Civil service rules for cities. — It is customary for the 
city which has the " mayor plan '' of government to elect 
by popular vote one or more officers besides the mayor — 
usually financial officers, but sometimes certain heads of 
departments' as well. The rank and file of the city em- 
ployees are appointed by the mayor or the heads of depart- 
ments, but this appointing power is now closely restricted 
in many important cities by civil service rules. That is, 
the appointing officer cannot pick any person he pleases for 
any vacancy that may occur, but is compelled to take from 
a list of '' eligibles," comprising those who have passed 
competitive examinations for such positions. In the old days 
the city council appointed. the city officers, but that power 
has now been nearly all taken away. Appointment under 
civil service rules rather than popular election or choice 
by the council is now the most approved form of selecting 
municipal employees. 

The city courts. — In every city of considerable size there 
is one or more police courts to which offenders arrested by 
the police are ordinarily taken. These courts try persons 
charged with misdemeanors, such as drunkenness, breaking 
windows, petty theft, disorderly conduct, and j&ghting. 
Persons charged with more serious offenses are held by the 
police justices for trial in higher courts. In addition to the 
police courts there is one or more higher criminal courts in 
which serious offenders are tried. Furthermore, there are 



134 American Citizenship 

lower civil courts for the trial of suits between private parties 
over property of small amount, and higher civil courts for 
the trial of suits involving larger amounts. 

Importance of police courts. — The criminal courts, and 
particularly the police courts, deserve the most careful 
attention. They are closely connected with the police sys- 
tem, for the spirit and attitude of the police judges or magis- 
trates help to determine whether the policemen are vigorous 
or careless in checking crime. These judges are usually 
appointed by the mayor or elected by popular vote. In 
either case, the voters should seek to understand the position 
of the police courts in city life, for the selection of judges is a 
serious matter. The judges must understand both the 
necessity of supporting the police administration in keeping 
good order, and of protecting the citizens from undue moles- 
tation on the part of the police. It is important that the 
judges should know the influence of labor, wages, and living 
conditions on the people of the city in order that the sentences 
which they pronounce upon people who are brought before 
them for trial may be as fair as possible. 

How the judge may help offenders. — A kind word, a gentle 
rebuke, or a helping hand at the right moment may stay a 
new offender on his downward course or may save from de- 
spair some poor person whose chief offense is his ignorance, 
or who may have been arrested without warrant by an igno- 
rant policeman. On the other hand, brutality and indif- 
ference in a police magistrate may fill the prisons with per- 
sons who do not rightfully belong there; may embitter 
many citizens against the kind of justice that is meted out, 
and permit hatred so to develop that the people will regard 
policemen and magistrates as their worst enemies instead of 
the guardians of liberty. 

Some new special city courts. — In addition to the regular 
police courts, our larger cities have many kinds of special 
courts to deal with different kinds of offenders. 



The Government of Cities 135 

The first of these special courts that comes to mind is the 
Juvenile Court, where young children are tried. We discussed 
this court in the section on Human Rights (p. 52). 

Another court is called the Domestic Relations Court. 
Here are brought many questions between husbands and wives. 

There are Night Courts in which offenders taken into 
custody late at night may be tried without having to spend 
a night in jail awaiting trial. In New York there are sepa- 
rate night courts for men and women. When it is remem- 
bered that about half of the prisoners brought into the 
courts are discharged without punishment, the value of a 
speedy trial becomes evident. 

National politics and local elections. — It is interesting 
to note that all of our political parties are formed on national 
issues and that their ^' organization " of conventions and 
committees runs throughout every state and almost every 
locality in the whole country. Men who were drawn to- 
gether in the Democratic party or the Republican party 
because of their views on slavery or the tariff remained to- 
gether in state and municipal elections, although those elec- 
tions never did have and could not have much connection 
with the tariff or slavery. Thus it comes about that men 
who are in fact agreed on a municipal policy are found fight- 
ing one another in municipal elections simply because they 
happen to differ on national questions. It is only the 
Socialists who have a municipal platform based on the 
same principles as their national platform and who advo- 
cate practically the same municipal policy throughout the 
country. 

The nonpartisan election. — In order to enable voters who 
agree on municipal matters to work together in city elec- 
tions although they differ in state and national politics, it 
is now quite common to separate city elections from state 
and national elections and hold them at other times. It is 
also common practice to make city elections " nonpartisan " ; 



136 American Citizenship 

that is, to forbid political parties to make nominations 
and to prohibit the use of party emblems and names on 
the ballots (p. 152). Under the nonpartisan system, 
nominations for council and mayor are made by petition, 
and the nominees are not permitted to put the names of the 
parties to which they belong on the ballot. It is hoped that 
under this plan all citizens interested in municipal improve- 
ments may be able to unite on a city program instead of allow- 
ing such vital matters as municipal health, housing reform, 
and social welfare generally to be lost to sight in the scrambles 
of the political leaders for office. 

Recent changes in American city government. — If we 
look at the history of city government in the United States, 
we shall see that the drift of affairs has been about as fol- 
lows. We began with a council which elected the mayor, 
appointed the city officers, made ordinances, and conducted 
all of the business of the city. In time, the practice grew 
up of giving the mayor more power, having him elected by 
the voters, allowing him to veto ordinances and to appoint 
many officers. The heads of departments, like the chief 
state officers, were made elective for a time and then changed 
to appointive ofiicers. Meanwhile, the council, often because 
it was too large, or corrupt and negligent, lost many of its 
former powers and honors and dwindled away into a petty 
body, for which citizens entertained little respect. With 
all the experiments, citizens were still dissatisfied, for they 
found their cities not as well governed as they had a right to 
expect under any of the schemes. 

Commission government for cities. — The latest of all the 
plans of city government is known as the '' Commission " 
form which originated in Galveston, Texas, after the great 
flood of 1900. This scheme does away with the separation 
of executive and legislative powers altogether and puts the 
entire government of the city into the hands of a small num- 
ber of men, — usually five, sometimes three, rarely seven 



The Government of Cities 137 

or nine, — known as a commission. All the commissioners 
are elected at large by the voters. Sometimes one of the 
five is called the mayor, but usually he has no more power 
than the others —-just the titular honor. The city's business 
— fighting fire, cleaning streets, maintaining a police force, 
and the like — is divided into five parts and one commis- 
sioner is placed at the head of each part and made respon- 
sible for its management. The ordinances of the city are 
made by all the commissioners acting as a small town council ; 
and taxes are laid, and rights granted to street car and other 
companies, in the same manner. The idea back of this plan 
is to put the city's business into the hands of a small number 
of men so that everybody can know who is responsible if 
anything goes wrong. The chief merit of the system is that 
it may interest the citizens more in the government of their 
city if they can know exactly on whom each duty rests. 
But like all other schemes it will not give the citizens any 
better government than they actually want. 

The city manager plan. — A modification of the commis- 
sion plan of city government was introduced in 1912, when 
Sumpter, South Carolina, adopted a '' city manager plan." 
Under this plan the commission or small city council is 
retained, but it does not undertake any executive work. 
The executive work is intrusted to a '' city manager " 
chosen by the commission or council and authorized to take 
charge of the entire business of administering the govern- 
ment of the city, including the right to appoint the chief 
subordinate officers. The commission or council thus 
becomes the legislature, and appoints the chief executive to 
carry out the laws. In choosing a city manager the com- 
mission or council may search the country for the best 
person. Thus it is hoped to develop in time a class of 
expert city managers, as capable in the field of municipal 
government as the heads of railways or great private corpora- 
tions are in their respective fields, and at the same time have 



138 American Citizenship 

popular control through the commission or council, and per- 
haps the initiative, referendum, and recall besides. The 
plan has also been adopted in Dayton and Springfield, Ohio, 
and in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Direct democracy in cities. — Another feature in the devel- 
opment of nonpartisan government in cities is the introduc- 
tion of " direct government ^' in the form of the initiative 
and referendum (p. 163), which enables the voters to 
decide on city ordinances and franchises quite apart from 
the candidates of parties for office. Under the initiative 
a certain percentage of the voters may initiate an ordinance 
and require its submission to all the voters for their approval. 
Under the referendum a certain percentage of the voters 
may order a referendum on an ordinance passed by the town 
council ; that is, require its submission to the voters so that 
they may decide whether or not it is to go into e:ffect. To 
these devices, the " recall " is frequently added, permitting 
a certain percentage of the voters to demand the recall of 
any elective officer and require him to submit to the test 
of a new election. These devices are now to be found in 
one form or another in nearly all commission government 
cities and in many others besides. 



Questions 

1. What is meant by Home Rule for Cities ? 

2. What is a city charter ? 

3. What is the most general plan of city government ? 

4. What is commission government ? 

5. Why have cities been altering their form of government so 
much? 

6. How are the powers of a city council limited ? 

7. How do national politics come into city affairs ? 

8. What efforts are made to check this, and why ? 

9. How are municipal employees selected ? 
10. Describe the various kinds of city courts. 



The Government of Cities 139 



Additional Reading 

Municipal Government and Administration : Beard, American 
City Government, pp. 31-128 ; Bryce, American Commonwealth, 
Vol. I, pp. 628-679. 

Home Rule for Cities : Beard, pp. 31-51 ; Kaye, Readings in 
Civil Government, pp. 336-368. 

Commission Government : Beard, pp. 92-97 ; Kaye, 356-360. 

Municipal Democracy : Beard, pp. 52-87 ; Kaye, pp. 503-527. 

Efficiency in City Government : Bruere, The New City Govern- 
ment, pp. 100-124. 

Securing Efficient Public Servants : Bruere, pp. 335-360. 



CHAPTER XI 

GOVERNMENT IN COUNTRY DISTRICTS 

I. Differences between rural and city problems. 
II. Our system of rural government is very ancient. 

III. The county government : the board. 
1. The county officers. 

IV. The town or township. 
V. The village. 

VI. The local judicial system. 

1. The importance of the county prosecutor. 
VII. State interference with local government. 



Difference between rural and city problems. — Rural gov- 
ernment is simpler than city government. Country people 
have their own water supply and they ride about in their 
own carriages and wagons rather than in public conveyances. 
It is because the city government does so many things for 
the citizen which the man in the country does for himself 
that it is so expensive and so much more difficult to manage. 

Our system of rural government is very ancient. — The 
system of government which obtains in rural regions is the 
oldest part of American government and it has changed the 
least in the course of our development. The very names, 
county, town, and village, run back for more than a thou- 
sand years in the history of the English-speaking people; 
and some of the local offices were old when America was 
discovered. It is only recently that the spirit of change 
which has led to so much experimenting in city government 
has begun to move in rural regions. A start was made in 

140 



Government in Country Districts 141 

Los Angeles County, California, in 1912 when the commis- 
sion form of government, now so popular in cities, was 
adopted for the county in place of the old system. 

The county government : the board. — Every state in 
the Union is divided into counties (called parishes in Louisi- 
ana) ; but the business which the county government does 
varies immensely from state to state. In the Southern and 
Western states "generally the county looks after a number 
of matters which are attended to by the town (equivalent 
to township in the West) in New England. The county 
government varies so much that it is difficult to say any- 
thing that is true of the whole country. Quite commonly 
the county has a sort of legislature, known as the board of 
county commissioners, or supervisors. This board is some- 
times composed of representatives from the townships within 
the county; sometimes it consists of only three or more 
members elected from three separate districts within the 
county ; or again the members may be elected at large. The 
board decides what money shall be spent for roads, bridges, 
poor houses, and other public matters within the county; 
but it has little or no lawmaking power. 

The county officers, — The executive department of the 
county, if we may use the term, consists of the sheriff whose 
business it is to carry out the orders of the county court and 
keep the peace of the county; the auditor who audits the 
claims against the county; the treasurer who keeps the 
county funds ; the clerk who keeps the records ; sometimes 
a recorder to preserve the records of deeds and mortgages ; 
a public prosecutor whose duty it is to run down and bring 
to trial those who commit crimes; and generally a school 
superintendent. It is customary to have these officers elected 
by the voters for short terms. Inasmuch as they do not 
make laws, but merely carry out laws already made, there 
is usually no great interest in their election. The chief 
problem is to get honest and capable men ; but too often the 



142 ' American Citizenship 

politicians of the county look on these offices as mere re- 
wards for campaign work. 

The town or township. — The comity is divided into town- 
ships, or, as they are known in New England and some 
other states, '^ towns." There is considerable difference 
between a township in Indiana, for instance, and a town in 
New England. They are alike only in the fact that they 
are both districts within a county. In New England the 
rural district or town began with a church congregation, 
each male member of which had a voice in managing its 
affairs. Later, when non-church members came into the 
communities, the plan of having meetings of all men in the 
church to run affairs was abandoned, and the meeting of the 
'^ freemen '^ or voters in the town hall took its place. This 
system prevails to-day. 

The government of the town in New England then is the 
" town meeting," composed of all the voters in the district, 
farmers as well as villagers, who assemble at the town hall 
once a year, or oftener if need be. At the town meeting a 
board of '' selectmen " is chosen to manage the business 
during the year ; there also are chosen a clerk, a tax collec- 
tor, overseers of the poor, constables, and other local officers. 
In an Indiana township, on the other hand, the voters never 
all come together at a town hall to decide matters or elect 
officers. The township officers are elected by ballot and their 
duties are not as important as are those of the New England 
town officers, because so much of the local business there is 
looked after by the county government. 

The village. — When a few hundred people come to dwell 
close together in a rural region, they usually want to be made 
independent of the township, the town, or the county, and 
form a separate government of their own. Thus it happens 
that between the township and the city we have the *^ vil- 
lage," which is simply a small district rather thickly popu- 
lated, set off from the surrounding rural regions and per- 



Government in Country Districts 143 

mitted to govern itself by a board and a president elected 
by the voters. 

The local judicial system. — Country districts, like the 
state and the nation, have their judicial departments. The 
county has a court of its own presided over by the county 
judge who is usually elected by the voters. In that court 
are tried those charged with the more serious crimes and 
suits over property which involve more than petty sums. 
The town or township has its court, presided over by a jus- 
tice of the peace, also elected by the voters. The justice 
of the peace tries petty offenders and holds preliminary trials 
of serious offenders whom he binds over to a higher court 
for trial and punishment. The justice of the peace also 
hears controversies between citizens involving property to 
the amount of only a few dollars — perhaps as much as two 
hundred dollars. 

The importance of the county prosecutor. — A very impor- 
tant officer connected with the rural judicial system is the 
county prosecutor who has deputies scattered about over 
the county. It is their business to run down criminals in 
the towns and villages as well as in the country districts. 
Whether the law against liquor selling, gambling, thieving, 
and disorderly conduct generally is put into force depends 
upon the character and zeal of these officials. It is their 
duty, too, to bring to trial local officers who embezzle 
money or otherwise violate the law relative to their offices. 

State interference with local government. — The State 
is exercising an ever larger control over local affairs. This 
is often a good thing although communities contend that 
they have a right to do as they please in their own matters. 
That may be true, but what is their own concern solely? 
Does it make no difference to the people of other counties 
whether one county allows disease to spread within its bor- 
ders and overleap them, or keeps such poor roads that no 
one can travel over them in safety? The state officers are 



144 American Citizenship 

usually men of higher training than the local officers and they 
are not afraid of what their neighbors in the town will say 
when they compel a farmer to clean up his barn before he 
can sell any more milk in the city. The state officers often 
bring new ideas into backward and self-satisfied regions where 
people would go on indefinitely living a half-civilized life 
if they were not disturbed. Nevertheless in some western 
states there is a strong feeling against too much interference 
with local government, and in California the county has been 
given '' home rule/' like that given to cities (p. 130). 



Questions 

1. Why have city governments changed their form more often 
than rural governments ? 

2. Is there a typical form of rural government ? 

3. Where are laws for rural control made ? 

4. How much independent executive control do rural govern- 
ments have ? 

5. Describe the rural judicial system. 

6. What are some of the common needs of urban and rural 
communities ? 



Additional Reading 

Survey of Local Government : Bryce, American Commonwealth, 
Vol. I, pp. 596-627; Beard, American Government, pp. 638- 
655 ; Readings, pp. 556-566. 

For a full description of the machinery of local government, see 
J. A. Fairlie, Local Government in Counties, Towns, and Villages 
(1906, Century Company). 



CHAPTER XII 
THE POLITICAL PARTY AND THE GOVERNMENT 

I. Political parties, or the government and public sentiment. 

1. How the political party is formed. 

2. Party principles and issues. 

3. How parties and issues have changed. 

4. How third parties have sprung up. 
II. Party organization and methods. 

1. Nominating officers. 

2. Making the party platform. 

3. The high importance of the primary. 

4. Managing the campaign. 

III. How the citizen may influence politics. 

IV. Plans to secure an honest ballot and a fair count in elections. 

1. The registration of voters before elections. 

2. The secret ballot in primaries and elections. 

3. The principles of the "Australian ballot." 

4. Party column and Massachusetts ballots. 

5. Nonpartisan ballots. 

6. The maintenance of good order at election places. 

7. How the parties watch each other at the polls. 

8. The importance of the hours for opening and closing the 

polls. 

9. The use of money in primaries and elections. 

10. Sources of money for use in primaries and elections. 

11. How money is spent in campaigns. 

12. Laws controlling use of money in elections. 

13. Publicity in primaries and elections : the Oregon plan. 



Political parties, or the government and public sentiment. 
— We have now spoken of the machinery of the govern- 
ment, of the lawmakers and other public officers who are 
chosen or appointed to do certain tasks in the name of the 
L 145 



146 American Citizenship 

people. What they do and how they work depend upon 
public sentiment — upon the ideas and determination of 
the voters who choose the officers. If enough voters decide 
that any branch of the government should operate in a 
certain way or should do a certain piece of work, it is done. 

How the political party is formed. — When a great many 
people with different ideas and occupations dwell together, 
however, there are certain to be differences of opinion over 
what the government should do and how it should work. 
These differences of opinion among voters lead those who 
hold similar or identical views to come together, hold meet- 
ings, spread their doctrines, elect managers and committee- 
men — in a word, form a political party of their own. A 
political party, then, is a group of voters banded together 
for the purpose of electing government officers, to control the 
government, and imdertake certain kinds of governmental 
work. 

Party principles and issues. — The general ideas which 
the members of a party agree should be carried out form its 
" party principles," and the points on which the various 
parties disagree are called the ^' issues of the campaign.'' 
As new inventions are made, new ways of doing business 
devised, and new notions arise about w^hat the government 
ought to do under the changed circumstances, issues change 
and old parties must alter their principles or perish. The 
truth of this statement has been exemplified again and again 
in our history. 

How parties and issues have changed. -^ At the opening 
of the nineteenth century there were two parties in the 
United States : the FederaUsts and the Democratic-Repub- 
licans, as the followers of Jefferson were styled. Within a 
generation, the Federalist party had disappeared altogether 
and no longer put up candidates for office. Jefferson's party 
had its own way for a time, but many changes were made 
in its doctrines, and about 1828 it was generally known as 



The Political Party and the Government 147 

the Democratic party. Before long another party began to 
oppose it — the Whigs, who elected two Presidents and then 
died, as a party, because its members could not agree on the 
question of slavery. When the Whig party went out of 
existence (about 1854), the Republican party sprang up to 
oppose the extension of slavery into the Western territories 
and to champion a protective tariff and the granting of 
public lands in small lots to homestead settlers. The Dem- 
ocratic party was divided on the slavery question, and after 
the Civil War it of course dropped the slavery issue and took 
up other questions. 

How third parties have sprung up. — From time to time 
voters have disapproved the principles of both the Repub- 
lican and Democratic parties, and on this account new parties 
have arisen. The farmers formed a party of their own 
known as the Populist Party about 1892, and this group had 
a large influence on both the old parties, for it vigorously 
championed income taxes, popular election of senators, and 
other measures which the older parties later took up. The 
working class also tended to gravitate toward a party of its 
own, and hence came labor parties and finally the Socialist 
party which has now grown to be about as strong as the 
Populist party was in its best days in the early nineties. More 
recently those who were dissatisfied with the Republicans 
and the Democrats and were not willing to join the Social- 
ists began to call themselves '^ progressives '' because they 
wanted to make certain changes in the government and its 
work. For a time these progressives all remained in their 
former parties, but in 1912 many of them broke away and 
formed a new party bearing the name Progressive. Thus 
we see new groups developing and regroupings taking 
place in political parties all of the time. The citizen must 
be on the watch to discover which of the many plans laid 
before him by party advocates is best for the public welfare. 
The man who boasts that he has voted for one party all 



148 American Citizenship 

his life is now likely to be set down as more foolish than 
patriotic. 

Party organization and methods. — In order for any 
party, new or old, to get possession and keep possession of 
the government it must '^ organize " ; that is, it must elect 
managers, or officers and committeemen, — township, 
county, state, and national, — and it must select candidates 
for all the various offices. If the members of a party are not 
agreed on a single candidate, let us say, for governor, but 
allow two or more to run for the office in its name, their party 
is certain to be defeated by its opponents if the latter agree 
on one man. 

Nominating officers. — Thus it is necessary for each party, 
where there are two active parties in opposition, to agree in 
advance on one party candidate for each office. This agree- 
ment is reached in one of two ways : (a) by holding a conven- 
tion of delegates in the county or state or nation as the case 
may be — a convention composed of party members chosen 
by the party voters in their several communities ; or (6) by 
the direct primary, that is, by an election held within the 
party before the regular election, at which primary the party 
members choose directly from among several candidates for 
nomination (p. 124). 

Making the party platform. — Another important task for 
tl^e party is the making of a fair and correct statement of 
the principles for which it stands. This '' platform " was 
formerly made by the convention, but where the convention 
is abolished a way is provided for having some representatives 
of the party draw up a list of party principles, to constitute 
the platform. 

The high importance of the primary. — The primary elec- 
tion to choose delegates to a nominating convention, or to 
choose candidates for office directly, is therefore of utmost 
importance to party members, particularly where there is 
only one strong party in the field ; because at the primary 



The Political Party and the Government 149 

the citizen is given a voice in deciding what issues the party 
shall stand for in the coming campaign and in choosing the 
candidates of the party to carry out those promises in case 
of victory. If the majority of the party members pay no 
attention to the primaries and then vote for any one whom 
the party managers nominate, a few persons who give their 
time and attention to the primaries will actually '^ boss " 
the party. A boss is a person who engages in politics all 
of the time and looks after the primaries, and then bosses 
the public officers who are elected by the party. 

Managing the campaign. — After the candidates are chosen 
and the platform is announced, the work of conducting the 
campaign for election falls principally upon the committee- 
men. They raise funds by securing contributions from the 
candidates themselves, from devoted party members, and 
principally from those who expect to derive some benefit 
from the results of the election. The money so collected is 
spent in a thousand ways : hiring halls for public speakers, 
posting bills, distributing leaflets, employing " party work- 
ers," organizing clubs and parades, and all too frequently 
in buying votes. The purpose of the party in the campaign 
is to influence public opinion (p. 287) and secure enough 
votes to win. 

How the citizen may influence politics. — The plain citi- 
zen, in order to have much weight in the conduct of the gov- 
ernment, — local, state, or national, — must combine with 
others whose views he shares more or less completely. That 
is, he must join a political party when he has made up his 
mind about the things which the government ought to do 
or ought not to do. If any person finds that he cannot 
agree with any of the parties, he may be an independent, 
voting this way or that as he may be inclined. The inde- 
pendent also has his place and is not without influence. He 
may criticize the views of all the parties and all of the parties 
must take into account the independent citizen who will 



150 American Citizenship 

not vote a party ticket just because his father did, but con- 
siders each election on its merits. 

Plans to secure an honest ballot and a fair count in elec- 
tions. — At the primaries and the elections, the citizens 
really decide what kind of government they are to have and 
what public services it is to render them. But it is not a 
simple thing to secure fair and just elections. Ignorant and 
indifferent men sell their votes ; men who have some selfish 
motives in winning elections buy votes ; '^ repeaters," as 
they are called, slip in a vote more than once ; corrupt men 
stuff the ballot boxes by putting in more than one ballot 
at a time ; persons who are not entitled to vote are frequently 
allowed to vote ; and sometimes there are drunkenness and 
disorder at the polls, and the ballots are not honestly counted 
at the close. There have been many disgraceful election 
scenes, but we can truly say that we have made rapid progress 
toward decent elections. 

The registration of voters before elections, — Not long ago 
all persons who thought they were entitled to vote (and 
some who knew they were not) appeared at the elections, and 
the question as to whether they were lawful voters was then 
settled at the polls. To-day it is customary, particularly 
in the great cities, to make up a list of lawful voters several 
days before the election, by requiring all who intend to vote to 
come before election officers and register their names as 
prospective voters. This is known as " registration." On 
election day no person can vote whose name does not appear 
in the registration book which is brought to the polls and 
there guarded by public officers. Furthermore, it is possible 
to prevent any person not entitled to vote from voting on 
election day, even though his name may appear in the regis- 
tration book. In the cities, detectives are often employed 
to trace down the persons who register as residing at certain 
places and claim the right to vote, to see whether their 
claims are correct. By this method the names of thousands 



The Political Party and the Government 151 



are struck from the books, who would otherwise have voted 
because it would have been impossible to dispute their claims 
in the few minutes at the election booth. 

The secret ballot in primaries and elections. — In olden 
times, elections were held in the open air or in a hall, and every 
voter announced publicly the names of the candidates for 







From an old print. 

Open-air Voting in the Eighteenth Century 

whom he voted. Later every political party printed its own 
list of candidates on a ballot, each party using a different 
color, and the voter was given a ballot by the party managers 
at the polls. Every one could see him put the ballot into the 
box and tell from its color for what party he was voting. It 
was possible for employers to force their workingmen to vote 
certain tickets and see that they obeyed orders ; the man who 
bought votes could stand by the polls and see his victims 
vote ; and the political boss could intimidate men who would 
otherwise have voted independently. 



152 American Citizenship 

The principles of the " Australian hallot,^^ — To-day all 
this has been radically changed by the adoption of the Austra- 
lian ballot which usually means in the United States the 
following things : 

(a) All ballots of all parties are printed at public expense 
and they are given only to the voters, one by one, on election 
day. 

(6) Voting is secret ;^ that is, the voter marks his ballot in 
a closed compartment where no one can see for whom he votes. 

(c) The names of all the candidates of all the parties are 
put on the same ballot; the voter marks his ballot, folds 
it so that the marking is not visible, and sees it placed un- 
opened in the ballot box. 

Party column and Massachusetts ballots. — The arrange- 
ment of the names on the ballot is an important matter. 
In a majority of states the names of the candidates of each 
party are placed in one column under a party emblem and the 
voter may vote a " straight ticket," that is, for all the candi- 
dates of a party, by making a single mark in a circle at the top 
of the column. In order to encourage the voters to think more 
about the merits of the several candidates than about their 
party membership, Massachusetts adopted many years ago 
the plan of arranging all of the candidates of all of the parties 
in alphabetical order under the titles of the respective offices 
for which they are running. In that way no one can vote a 
straight ticket by making a single mark; the voter must 
mark the name of each person for whom he votes. The 
Massachusetts ballot, however, does not leave the party out 
of account altogether, for after the name of each candidate 
appears the name of the party to v/hich he belongs (unless, 
of course, he is running as an independent). 

Nonpartisan ballots. — So great is the opposition to the 
introduction of state and national politics into city elections 
that many cities have what are known as " nonpartisan 

^ Voting is secret even if a voting machine is used. 



The Political Party and the Government 153 



W^ (^nmxammviV&i of iiasHarlfUHftta 



List of Candidates nominated, to be voted for in the Town of Amherst, Nov. 8, 1 9 1 0. 
SPECIMEN BALLOT. 



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flne not exceeeHlrsg one hundred dollsrs. 



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the right of the Party Name, or PoUtical Designation^^ 



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154 American Citizenship 

ballots" (p. 135). Candidates for mayor, council, and 
other city offices are thus nominated by petition alone ; no 
political party can make nominations. The names of the 
candidates are arranged in order under the title of the re- 
spective offices, and no party emblems or party designations 
whatsoever appear on the ballot. The voter must mark 
the name of every candidate for whom he votes, and he has 
no party signs to guide him. 

The maintenance of good order at election 'places. — The selec- 
tion of the polling places is important, because they should 
be convenient to the voters, and in decent, orderly buildings 
so that everything may go off quietly and respectably. 
Enough polling places should be opened so that crovv^ding is 
not necessary and that each voter may have plenty of time to 
mark his ballot. The polling place should be on the ground 
floor and in full public view. It should not be in a dirty little 
shop, and particularly not in or near a saloon. Very recently, 
especially since the growth of woman suffrage, has come a 
demand for the use of the school buildings as election places, 
and in fact they are so used in many cities now. Where this 
is done there is a marked improvement in the tone of the 
elections. Certainly there is no place too good or too sacred 
to be used for such a noble purpose. The old notion that an 
election is a time for drunkenness and brawls is now thoroughly 
discredited, even in states where women do not vote, for a 
decent man does not want to vote in a saloon or have his 
life in peril while he casts his ballot. 

How the parties watch each other at the polls. — In order to 
secure fair play all around, it is customary to give to each 
of the two parties, casting the highest vote in a preceding 
election, representatives on the official election board that 
presides over each polling place. In addition to this safe- 
guard, each party with candidates on the ballot is allowed a 
certain number of " watchers and challengers " who are ad- 
mitted to the polling place and given the right to challenge 



The Political Party and the Government 155 

any person who, in their opinion, is not lawfully entitled to 
^ vote, and also the right to watch the counting of the ballots 
\ to see that each ballot is honestly recorded and the numbers 
\set down correctly in the official books. In the suffrage 
states, women are frequently engaged as watchers and even 
in non-suffrage states they have sometimes acted as watchers 
with good effect upon the order and decent conduct of elec- 
tions. 

The importance of the hours for opening and closing the polls. 
— It is important that the hours of voting shall be so fixed 
as not to deprive those who go to work early in the morning 
and work late in the evening of the right to vote. Often 
when the hour of closing the polls is fixed at six o'clock, p.m., 
there is a great rush of workingmen, and many are prevented 
from voting at all. One way to obviate this difficulty is to 
require employers to allow their workmen sufficient time off 
to go and vote, without making a cut in their wages for the 
day. 

The use of money in primaries and elections. — Among the 
many problems of providing for fair elections is that raised 
by the extensive use of money by the parties in their cam- 
paigns and by candidates seeking nominations for office. 
Campaigns cost money even if no votes are bought. Halls 
must be hired, many speakers paid, large quantities of 
printed matter issued, and traveling expenses met, A million 
dollars is estimated as a small sum with which to carry on a 
national campaign, and some investigations during recent 
years have revealed the expenditure of enormous sums by 
the leading parties. In 1912 one candidate for nomination 
spent in his campaign over half a million dollars raised by 
two or three friends. Under the direct primary no one can 
hope to receive the nomination unless he spends a large sum 
on ''publicity," in presenting his claims to the voters. A poor 
man can hardly expect to be nominated unless he can induce 
some rich friends to pay his campaign expenses. 



156 American Citizenship 

Sources of money for use in primaries and elections. — In- 
vestigations have shown that the large contributions to party 
funds for campaign purposes within recent years have come 
from the following sources : 

(1) Corporations and business interests desirous of securing 
favors from the government when the party to which they 
contribute gets into power. 

(2) Saloons, gambling places, and other similar institu- 
tions which seek to evade the laws agaiiist liquor selling, 
gambling, and vice generally. 

(3) Office holders who are compelled to contribute to a 
party for fear of losing their positions after the election if they 
do not. A number of instances have been unearthed of 
office holders contributing to two parties so as to be sure 
of having a friend in power. 

(4) Contractors for roads, public buildings, parks, and 
other public works, who expect to secure profitable con- 
tracts on favorable terms from the victorious party. 

(5) Candidates who must pay heavily for their nomina- 
tions, sometimes as high as twenty-five per cent of the 
salaries of the offices they seek. 

(6) Companies and corporations that want franchises 
and charters from the government to build street railways 
and operate public service concerns of one kind or another. 

How money is spent in campaigns. — The money thus 
raised is spent in three different ways. A vast amount goes 
for the legitimate expenses of the campaigns. Not a little 
is spent illegitimately buying votes, either in purchasing 
them outright or in '^ treating " and other devious schemes. 
Then a considerable portion is spent in " influencing public 
opinion " in a questionable manner, paying large sums to 
speakers who might be lukewarm or in the opposition, buying 
space in newspapers without labeling it advertising, employ- 
ing detectives to hunt up scandals about opposing candidates, 
paying persons to walk in monster parades and otherwise 
'' throwing dust " in the eyes of the voters. 



The Political Party and the Government 157 

Laws controlling use of money in elections. — The many 
evils connected with the lavish use of money have brought 
about legislation intended to control them. Such legislation 
usually embraces the following principles : 

(1) Prohibition of contributions by corporations. This was 
adopted by the federal government in 1907 and has been 
adopted by several states also. 

(2) Limitation of the amount to be spent by candidates 
to certain sums or a certain percentage of the salaries of 
the offices for which they are candidates. Candidates for 
the United States Senate may spend only $10,000 for their 
primaries and elections ; candidates for the House of Rep- 
resentatives may spend $5000. 

(3) Restriction of the uses to which money may be put in 
elections. 

(4) Punishment for bribery. 

(5) Publicity of campaign funds ; that is, requiring parties 
and candidates to report their receipts and expenditures 
during campaigns, for public record. This is required in 
national elections and in a large majority of the states. 

Publicity in primaries and elections : the Oregon plan. — In 
order to offset the advantages which men of great wealth 
have in the contests for office, Oregon has adopted a unique 
scheme. It forbids candidates to spend more than a certain 
amount to secure their nomination and election. It issues a 
" publicity pamphlet " for the primaries and the elections. 
For the primary, the government prepares a pamphlet for 
each party; the members of each party running for the 
several offices are given a certain number of pages in this 
pamphlet at a small cost ; and then the pamphlet is sent at 
pubUc expense to the party voters throughout the state, 
county, or city, as the case may be. At elections, the state 
issues a publicity pamphlet in which all parties are given a 
certain space at a small cost to set forth their claims upon 
the voters for support. This document is then sent to all 



15S American Citizenship 

the voters at public expense. Thus the poor and the rich, 
the small party and the large party, stand all on the same 
footing as far as the official publicity arrangements go. Of 
course this does not counterbalance the influence of powerful 
newspapers, but it at least enables all to have some hearing 
before the public. 



Questions 

1. What were the first political parties we had ? 

2. What gave rise to the Whig party ? The Republican party ? 
The PopuHsts ? The Socialists ? The Progressives ? 

3. How is a party organized ? 

4. What is a platform ? 

5. What is meant by political issues ? 

6. What is the importance of the primary ? 

7. How may the citizen influence politics ? 

8. What was the value of the introduction of the Australian 
ballot ? 

9. What is the Massachusetts ballot ? 

10. What means are now taken to secure an honest ballot ? 

11. What part does money play in election returns? 



Additional Reading 

State and Local Politics : Beard, American Government, pp. 
656-705 ; Readings, pp. 567-589 ; Bryce, American Common- 
wealth, Vol. I, pp. 571-583. 

National and Local Politics : Kaye, Readings in Civil Govern- 
ment, pp. 369-372. 

The Party System of Government : Bryce, Vol. II, pp. 3-246 ; 
Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections, pp. 1-20. 

The Development of Party Organization in the United 
States : Jones, pp. 28-46. 

The Value of Political Organization: Ward, The Social 
Center, pp. 69-95. 

Party Organization in Detail : Jones, pp. 169-205. 

The Ballot and its Forms : Jones, pp. 212-244. 

Party Problems and Remedies : Jones, pp. 251-330. 

Operations of a Municipal Boss : Beard, Readings, pp. 566-572. 



CHAPTER XIII 
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT AND DEMOCRACY 

I. Changing democracy. 
II. Democracy and representative government. 

1. The idea of a "representative republic." 

2. Why representative government was established in the 

United States. 

3. The use of the term " democracy" to-day. 

III. Growth of direct democracy. 

1. Direct government is being applied in our state affairs. 

2. Why direct government has grown in favor. 

3. Where direct government is popular. 

IV. The initiative. 
V. The referendum. 

VI. The recall. 

1. The recall of judicial decisions. 
VII. The direct primary. 
VIII. The short ballot. 

1. How little the voter knows about the men for whom he 
votes. 
IX. Various views as to direct democracs^ 

1. Two ways of viewing direct government. 

2. Two kinds of opponents of direct government. 

3. Democracy a matter of indefinite growth. 



Changing democracy. — We have thus far spoken of the 
machinery of our government as if it were very definitely 
fixed and not likely to change. We should give a false 
notion of the politics of our time, however, if we should take 
no account of some important alterations in the present 
methods of making and enforcing laws by elected agents, 
which are now being made, particularly in the Western states, 

159 



i6o American Citizenship 

The most significant of all these changes is the growth of the 
idea of " direct democracy " as opposed to " representative 
democracy." It is therefore necessary for us to examine in 
detail just what this change implies. 

Democracy and representative government. — There prob- 
ably never was a general idea about which more confusion has 
existed than about the idea of democracy. The word in its 
Greek origin meant a government by the people ; but how 
many people should be given a share in the government and 
j ust how they should govern in order to constitute a democ- 
racy is a matter which has never been clearly settled. It 
is customary for those who are given the vote to assume that 
they are " the people " and that their government is that 
of a democracy. It is commonly assumed, too, that the f ramers 
of the American government thought that they were estab- 
lishing a democracy and that a representative government 
chosen by voters was itself a democracy. But this assump- 
tion is not correct. At the time of the American Revolution 
and the formation of the Constitution, the word " democ- 
racy " was in disfavor in the United States as well as in 
Europe. Indeed, it was commonly associated with the 
words anarchy and atheism in the minds of leading people. 

The idea of a " representative republic." — The founders 
of our government intended to set up a '^ representative " 
republic. To Madison a democracy meant a " society con- 
sisting of a number of persons who assemble and administer 
the government in person," a government modeled on that 
of a New England town meeting (p. 142). On the other 
hand, a representative republic meant to him a government 
by representatives or agents chosen by those voters who 
possessed the necessary property qualifications (p. 66). 
In a democracy, as it was defined, the voters themselves 
determine what the government shall do and how it shall 
be done by voting on laws as well as for officers. In a rep- 
resentative republic, on the contrary, the voters do not 



Representative Government and Democracy i6i 

decide on laws or measures, but they choose their agents 
or representatives, who determine what is good for the peo- 
ple. If the voters do not like what their agents do, they may 
elect new agents at the expiration of the terms of the old 
ones ; but the new agents are to interpret what the people 
need — the people are not to decide for themselves, by voting, 
just what kind of laws they want. 

Why '^ representative^^ government was established in the 
United States. — To the founders of our government, this 
idea of agency or representation was even more important 
than the suffrage itself. They foresaw that in time the 
suffrage might probably be extended to all adult males (the 
idea of suffrage for women was entirely foreign to their 
thoughts) ; but they thought that, if the proper kind of 
representative government could be maintained, no great harm 
might result. So they put into their scheme of representa- 
tive government the system of checks and balances which 
we have described before (p. 184). The members of the 
House of Representatives were to be elected by the voters 
at large ; the Senators by the state legislatures ; the President 
by a specially chosen body of presidential electors ; and the 
judiciary by the President and Senate. This was to prevent 
the masses from having too much direct power or making 
laws too hastily. 

The use of the term " democracy " to-day. — We no longer 
use the word " democracy" as the founders of our government 
used it, as meaning a government in which the people not 
only elect officers but make laws by voting. When we speak 
of democracy in this sense now, we add the adjective 
" direct " — meaning government by the voters directly 
rather than by agents chosen for the purpose of discovering 
and enforcing the voters' will. 

Growth of direct democracy. — There has been a tendency 
in our government to allow more people to vote and to allow 
them to decide upon laws and constitutions by the ballot as well 

M 



1 62 American Citizenship 

as to choose officers and representatives directly. The 
federal government has been made more '' direct " : (a) by 
the practice of making the presidential electors mere ciphers 
in the presidential election (p. 107) ; and (6) by the recent 
amendment providing for the election of United States Sen- 
ators by popular vote instead of indirectly by the state 
legislatures (p. 101). 

Direct government is being applied in our state affairs. — It 
is in the states that our governments have been made 
more democratic, in the sense of having a wider suffrage 
(p. 69) and more direct, in the sense of vesting in the voters 
the right to say whether or not they will have this law or that 
constitution for themselves. Some of our states are democ- 
racies in almost the exact sense that the term was used by 
the founders of our system of government; that is, voters 
not only choose officers, but decide upon laws at the polls. 
It is true that they do not all meet at one place to do this, 
and this is an important distinction. If they all met — tens 
of thousands at the state capital — we should have direct 
democracy in the old sense, and probably all of the riots and 
disorders which were originally associated with the notion; 
but they do not so meet. They decide things individually, 
after discussion, by voting " yes " or ''no" on laws in the 
polling booths at elections. 

Why direct government has grown in favor. — This increase 
in the power of the voters has been due to two main causes : 
(a) dissatisfaction vv^ith the way that the representatives 
actually conducted the government ; and (b) the growth 
of a political interest among the voters which makes them 
want to take more part in government. Dissatisfaction 
with representative government began to appear early; 
representatives often would not make the laws for which there 
was a large popular demand ; and they were frequently 
corrupt, and made laws for the benefit of private persons and 
corporations by granting them concessions and privileges 



Representative Government and Democracy 163 

of all kinds. Owing to the spread of education and the 
development of cheap newspapers and books, large numbers of 
voters now think that they can decide many matters better 
than their agents can. 

Where direct government is popular. — The principle of 
direct government has been adopted in about one-third of 
the states, including South Dakota, Oregon, Washington, 
California, Oklahoma, Maine, Arizona, Ohio, and Colorado. 
The demand for similar reforms is so strong in other states 
that it is desirable to explain the system in great detail 
and to examine with some care the ideas upon which it is 
based. 

The initiative. — The initiative is a device whereby any 
person or group of persons may draft a proposal for a law and, 
on securing the signatures of a certain number of voters, have 
it submitted to the voters at large for their approval or dis- 
approval. Thus it is possible for the voters to make laws 
without using the legislature at all. Suppose, for example, 
that some of us thought there ought to be a law granting pen- 
sions to poor widows with children and we could not persuade 
the legislature to pass it. Under the " direct " government 
system we could draw up the law ourselves, go around and 
get a certain number, say 5 per cent, of the voters to sign a 
petition asking for the submission of the law to the voters ; 
if we got the required number of signers, the secretary of 
state would have to print a ballot for the next election, 
asking the voters whether they approve the law, " Yes or 
No." If a majority of those voting said " yes," our plan 
would become law. 

One of the big problems in connection with this system is : 
" How many voters should be required to sign the petition 
in order to have the law submitted? " If too many are re- 
quired, the difficulty of getting the signers makes it impossible 
to work the system. If only a few signers are necessary, 
then many proposals that the people do not want at all would 



164 American Citizenship 

have to be voted on at every election — a great expense and 
a nuisance besides. 

The referendum. — The word '' referendum " is from the 
Latin word referre, meaning '' to carry back." As applied 
in politics, it means a system whereby the laws made by a 
legislature may be carried back to the voters for their ap- 
proval before going into effect. Where it is used a small 
percentage of the voters who do not like a law or an appro- 
priation of money passed by the legislature may get up a 
petition against it, and, on securing enough signers, may 
compel the secretary of state to place the law before the 
voters at the next election; if they approve, it becomes 
law ; if a majority do not want it, it perishes. This idea was 
adopted in one form in our states before the initiative, 
through the practice of submitting state constitutions and 
amendments to state constitutions to the voters for their 
approval before allowing them to go into effect. 

The recall. — The recall is based on the idea that an 
officer is a mere agent and can be turned out at any time the 
voters do not like his deeds. The old idea was that the 
officer was elected for a term of years and was expected to do 
his best according to his own notions. The recall provides 
that whenever a certain number of voters are dissatisfied 
mth the conduct of a mayor or a governor or any elective 
officer, they can get up a petition against him, compel a new 
election, and turn him out of office if a majority of votes are 
cast against him. In a way, this puts the execution of the 
law directly into the hands of the voters. 

The recall of judicial decisions. — A development of this 
idea is the " recall of judicial decisions," which is a plan 
whereby a certain percentage of voters who do not like the 
action of a judge in declaring a law unconstitutional (p. 90) 
may join in a petition and have submitted to the voters 
this question : " Shall the law which Judge X declared void 
continue to be a law in spite of his decision? " If a majority 



Representative Government and Democracy 165 

vote '' yes/' the law stands; otherwise the decision of the 
judge stands. This plan is not yet in force, except in Colo- 
rado. 

The direct primary. — Another part of the plan for direct 
government is the direct primary, which we have already 
mentioned in connection with the selection of officers (page 
148). The convention system, which it abolished, was 
based on the idea that the voters could wisely select delegates 
to a party council and that those delegates would carefully 
and honestly select the best members of the party to be the 
party candidates for office. The direct primary, on the 
other hand, is based on the idea that the voters can decide 
best for themselves what persons they want to stand as their 
party candidates. 

The short ballot. — So many officers are elected now that 
the voter often has to choose from among three or four 
hundred candidates for forty or fifty different positions ; 
and so it happens that the bewildered person does not know 
much about any of the men for whom he votes. A ballot 
fourteen feet long was recently used, for example, in a New 
York election. The advocates of the short ballot say : " Let 
us reduce the number of officers chosen at any one election 
to three or four, so that the voters will have a chance to look 
the candidates over carefully and select good men." Many 
who do not believe in direct government believe in the short 
ballot, saying, '' If the voters could give more attention to 
electing a few good men, there would not be so many corrupt 
officers and representatives chosen, and therefore no need for 
the initiative, referendum, and recall." 

How little the voter knows about the men for whom he votes. — 
The fact is that with so many ofiicers to choose the voter 
simply cannot know much about any of them. How this 
works out is shown by the answers to some questions put 
to the voters of a Brooklyn district composed of intelligent 
and independent citizens. The following table giving the 



1 66 American Citizenship 

answers shows how few of the voters knew even the names of 
the officers chosen in an election held a short time before the 
questions were asked : — 

Do you know the name of the new state treasurer just elected ? 

Yes : 13 per cent. 

Do you know the name of the present state treasurer ? 

Yes : 25 per cent. 

Do you know the name of the new state assemblyman for this 
district ? 

Yes : 30 per cent. 

Do you know the name of the defeated candidate for assembly- 
man in this district ? 

Yes : 20 per cent. (Knew both of them : 16 per cent.) 

Do you know the name of the surrogate of this coimty ? 

Yes : 35 per cent. 

Do you know the name of your alderman ? 

Yes : 15 per cent. 

Do you know whether your alderman was one of those who 
voted against the increase in the police force last year ? 

Yes : 2 per cent. 

Various views as to direct government. — The initiative 
and referendum are schemes for allowing the voters to make 
laws directly without using the legislature or asking its advice 
at all and to veto laws. The old idea was that the voters 
could not themselves know enough about government to 
decide policies, but that all they could do was to select rep- 
resentatives who should give their attention especially to 
government, relieving the voters of the task of bothering 
about anything except occasional elections of agents. Direct 
government, however, presupposes that the voters have made 
up their minds or can make up their minds on all matters, 
and that the officers whom they choose are merely agents 
to carry out their will. The system has an educational ad- 
vantage through the publicity given to every proposal. 
Leaflets, large and small, giving both sides to every contro- 
versy, are widely distributed among the men and women of 
Oregon, where this system prevails. 



Representative Government and Democracy 167 

Two ways of viewing direct government. — This movement 
for " direct government " may be viewed in two ways, 
(a) Some say the initiative and referendum do not take the 
place of representative government at all; they are simply 
aids, to keep the government '' truly representative." The 
initiative will not be used often — only in flagrant cases where 
the legislature refuses to listen to the just demands of the 
people ; the referendum will be used only occasionally when 
the legislature has passed a grossly unjust and clearly unwise 
law. This is probably the view of the greater portion of 
those who advocate such reforms. (6) Other advocates of 
direct government look upon the initiative and referendum 
as practical substitutes for the legislature, and expect in time 
to see all important laws made directly by the voters. They 
believe that it is always better to have the direct judgment 
of the voters rather than that of a legislature. They 
look forward to a time when all voters will be intelligent and 
interested in measures instead of in politicians, and will 
seek the knowledge necessary to decide every important 
matter at the polls. 

Two kinds of opponents to direct government — Opponents 
of the system of direct government, likewise, fall into two 
groups : (a) those who are afraid of the people and want them 
to have as little voice in the government as possible; and 
(6) those who believe that the voters simply cannot give 
the time and attention to governmental matters which is 
necessary to a wise decision of very complicated questions 
about laws. The latter believe in popular rule, the right of 
the voters to elect whomsoever they please, to turn them out 
at elections, and to have enacted into law anything on which 
they have definitely made up their minds. The latter say : 
" We accept the will of the voters as law, but we want to be 
sure that the whole matter has been carefully thought out 
and discussed before action is taken ; we do not want to put 
our lives, our liberty, and our property at the mercy of a 



1 68 American Citizenship 

mere chance majority at the polls at any one election." That 
is really the issue : '' Should a mere majority of those who 
take the trouble to go to the polls be allowed to make any 
law on anything they please, even forbidding freedom of 
speech and religious liberty? " 

Democracy a matter of indefinite growth, — From what we 
have said in this chapter, it is clear that the terms '' democ- 
racy '^ and '' government of the people " may mean much 
or nothing, and that repeating them without explaining what 
we mean by them is useless. How many and what per- 
sons ought to be allowed to vote in order to constitute a 
democracy? What should the voters be allowed to do in 
order to have a '^ government of the people " ? These are 
questions which are never finally settled, but are in fact prob- 
lems which all of us are compelled to face as citizens and to 
pass upon from time to time. Democracy did not begin, 
therefore, with the Declaration of Independence, and the 
last word will never be said on the subject as long as new 
thoughts arise in the human brain and new needs are felt by 
the people. 

Questions 

1. What is the difference between representative government 
and direct democracy ? 

2. Which did the American Fathers regard as the wiser form 
of government, and why ? 

3. How has the federal government been made more democratic 
in the sense of yielding to popular control ? 

4. Where do we have direct democracy now and why was it 
adopted ? 

5. What are the initiative, referendum, recall, and short ballot ? 

6. What is the direct primary ; the recall of judicial decisions ? 

7. What arguments do opponents of direct government use ? 

8. What are the two ways of viewing direct government as a 
benefit to society ? 

9. In what way does direct government conflict with the idea 
of the separation of functions in the government ? 



Representative Government and Democracy 169 



Additional Reading 

Popular Control in State Governments : Beard, Readings, 
pp. 411-431 ; McCarthy, The Wisconsin Idea, pp. 88-123. 

Faults and Strength op American Democracy : Bryce, Ameri- 
can Commonwealth, Vol. II, pp. 630-654. 

The Short Ballot: Beard, American Government, pp. 474-487; 
Jones, Readings on Parties and Elections, pp. 225-232. 

The Variations in the Initiative and Referendum : Beard, 
461-471. 

Direct Legislation and the Recall : Jones, pp. 335-352. 



PART III 

THE WORK OF GOVERNMENT 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE SERVICES RENDERED BY THE FEDERAL 
GOVERNMENT 

I. The government as a cooperative concern. 
II. The division of the work of government among many 
officers. 

III. Division of work between the federal and state 

governments. 

1. How industries are national in character. 

2. Why the states find it difficult to regulate industries. 

3. National laws versus uniform laws. 

4. Many new and important things may be done with- 

out changing the Constitution. 

5. The federal government is in fact very close to the 

people. 

IV. In what ways the consumer is helpless. 
V. What interstate commerce is. 

VI. Federal regulation of railway rates. 
VII. Federal pure food laws. 

1. Federal food inspection and study. 

2. The importance of watching our food supplies 

carefully, 

3. Should the consumer be protected against other 

schemes for cheating ? 
VIII. The theory of a protective tariff. 

1. The present defense of protection. 

2. The tariff and foreign labor. 

3. The free trade theory. 
IX. The practical tariff question. 

1. The tariff is always a compromise. 
X. The tariff commission. 
XI. Reciprocity. 
XII. Searching for foreign trade. 

173 



174 



American Citizenship 



XIII. The trust question. 

1. The old theory of competition. 

2. How big combinations and trusts g:rew up. 

3. The unfair methods of trusts. 

4. The federal law against trusts — the Sherman Act 

of 1890. 

XIV. Present theories about what to do with the trusts. 

1. The advocates of a radical breaking up of the trusts. 

2. Regulation of the trusts. 

3. The socialist theory about the trusts. 

4. Theory of "natural monopoly." 
XV. The public land grants to farmers. 

1. The policy of the government in granting lands to 
farmers. 
XVI. Irrigation works. 
XVII. Agricultural colleges. 
XVIII. The Department of Agriculture. 
XIX. The power of Congress over labor matters. 

XX. Federal laws about labor. 
XXI. The Department of Labor. 
XXII, Competition with foreign labor. 

XXIII. Immigration. 

XXIV. Labor employed by the government. ^ 
XXV. The post office. 

1. The services rendered by the post office. 
XXVI. Natural resources. 

1. Proposals for dealing with our natm^al resources. 

2. Surveying the national domains. 
XXVII. River and harbor improvements. 

1. The waste of public funds in such schemes. 
XXVIIL The Panama Canal. 
XXIX. Building national highways. 

XXX. Health not altogether a local concern. 
XXXI. Inspection of immigrants. 
XXXII. The public health service. 

1. The reorganization of federal health work in 1912. 
XXXIII. National defense. 

1. The standing army. 

2. The militia. 

3. The reserve militia. 

4. The navy. 

5. Rapid increase in naval expenditure. 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 175 

6. The command of the army and navy. 

7. Pensions for soldiers. 

8. The cost of wars. 

9. War against war. 
10. Arbitration Treaties. 

XXXIV. Importance of the President's power in international 
affairs. 
1. How the President negotiates with other countries. 
XXXV. Gold and silver coinage. 

1. The ratio between gold and silver in coins. 

2. The history of the ratio down to 1873. 

3. The free silver question. 

4. Paper money. 

5. National bank notes. 

6. The problem of national banking. 

7. The new banking law of December, 1913. 
XXXVI. The power of Congress to tax. 

XXXVII. The chief sources of federal revenue. 
XXXVIII. Making the budget. 

1. Balancing the books. 
XXXIX. The power of the federal government over territories. 

1. The District of Columbia. 

2. The territories. 



The government a cooperative concern. — Mention has 
been made of the human needs which the government is 
designed to meet, and of the way in which the persons who com- 
pose the government are chosen and put to work. There is 
another most important phase of civics ; namely, just what 
the government does to make this a safer, wiser, and happier 
country. In other words, how can the government help the 
individual in his struggle to make a living safely and with 
the least waste, to improve his mind, and to secure himself 
against misfortunes over which he has no control? This 
does not mean that we are asking the government to do 
for us what we should do for ourselves, but it does mean 
that to-day there are many things which we as individuals 
cannot do without joining with our fellow citizens — with- 



176 American Citizenship 

out cooperating and using some branch of the government. 
For example, no one wants to be poisoned by adulterated 
foods, but every one has not the time to go around and 
inspect the hundreds of factories in which food is prepared ; 
therefore, a joint agent, a government officer, is employed 
to do the work for all of us. 

The division of the work of government among many 
officers. — The officers who perform all kinds of public ser- 
vices for us are federal, state, city, and rural officers. The 
work of government is so divided that it is not always a 
simple matter to know which of these officers is responsible 
for any given undertaking. Sometimes we see city, state, 
and federal health officers cooperating to fight disease, and 
sometimes we find federal and state officers disagreeing about 
their respective powers over an important matter. This di- 
vision of public work between the national and state govern- 
ments has been, and still is, one of the most troublesome 
problems of our country. 

Division of work between the federal and state govern- 
ments. — Some people think that they can solve it by saying 
in a light manner, '' Oh, let the state do the things which 
belong to the state and the federal government the things 
which belong to it ; " but that only begs the real question, 
" What things actually do belong to each? " This problem 
has been discussed for a hundred years, but it has not been 
solved, and in fact it never can be solved, because the busi- 
ness, industry, and commerce of the country change from 
generation to generation, so that it is necessary to be always 
redividing the work. For instance, a long time ago when 
the factories and workshops were small and the products 
turned out at each one were sold principally in the neighbor- 
hood or within the state in which they were manufactured, it 
was clearly a state matter to decide about the sanitary con- 
ditions of the buildings and the hours and work of persons em- 
ployed in them, if sanitation was a governmental matter at all. 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 177 

How industries are national in character. — We see how all 
of that has altered. There are no industries of any conse- 
quence to-day which sell all their products in the neighbor- 
hood. Chicago and Kansas City pack and ship meats for 
millions of people all over the country. Most of the cloth 
that is manufactured in the United States is made in New 
England and a few Southern states. The iron industry is 
largely confined to a few commonwealths like Pennsylvania, 
Alabama, and Michigan. Each of the great railway compa- 
nies operates in a score of states. Most of our clothing is 
made in centers like New York and Chicago. Can we truly 
say any longer : ^' It is no concern of ours how other states 
regulate their industries or attempt to prevent adulteration 
and other evil practices? " Even if we are so selfish that we 
do not care whether our clothes are made and our food 
packed by people who are paid starvation wages, we may 
be interested enough to look out for ourselves, and protect 
ourselves against shoddy and poison. 

Why the states find it difficult to regulate industries. — Then 
we must look at the matter from the point of view of those 
who are trying to prevent poverty and ill health by pro- 
viding schemes to increase wages, shorten hours of labor, 
compel employers to pay compensation to injured workmen, 
and provide for the aged poor. If a state says to an employer, 
" You must not pay less than a certain wage to your women 
employees," he may very justly reply, '' See here ; I sell 
goods all over the United States, and I must put my prices 
low enough to meet the prices fixed by manufacturers in other 
states where wages are much lower and where no attempt is 
made to settle them by law. If you compel me to pay this 
fixed wage, you will take away all of the profit in my business, 
and I must either shut up my mill or move to another state 
where wages are lower." 

National laws versus uniform laws. — How are we to 
meet such problems? The person who believes in "new 

N 



178 American Citizenship 

nationalism " holds that every concern which is truly na- 
tional in character — which affects immediately and in an 
important way the people of many states — should be under 
the control of the national government. The champion of 
states' rights, on his part, contends that the best way is to 
encourage all of the states to make the same laws on the same 
subject — uniform legislation — even if the result is reached 
more slowly. This thing cannot be settled in a book; it 
must be fought out in the arena of practical politics, and 
every thoughtful person who takes an interest in government 
will have to give serious attention to it. He will always face 
the question : " Shall the powers of the federal government 
be increased by adding to the powers already enumerated 
in the federal Constitution? " 

Many new and important things may he done without 
changing the Constitution. — It is not necessary, however, 
to amend the Constitution in order to do many helpful 
things to fight the foes of mankind, — disease, poverty, and 
crime. By a ^' liberal construction " of the Constitution, 
that is, by interpreting in a very free and easy way the powers 
already conferred upon Congress, it is possible to do many 
things the Constitution does not say anything about. For 
example, the Constitution does not mention railways, and they 
were not dreamed of when it was made, but it does say that 
Congress may regulate " interstate commerce," and on this 
warrant Congress has provided a system for fixing passenger 
and freight rates, and otherwise controlling railways engaged 
in business in more than one state (p. 180). Another good 
example — the use of the power to tax in such a way as 
to improve labor conditions — is furnished by the story of 
the match industry. The yellow phosphorus used to make 
the old-fashioned match was highly poisonous, and those 
working in the industry often suffered from having their 
teeth fall out or their jawbones decay, and many died of 
the poison. Matches could be made a little more expensively 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 179 

from other materials, and in 1912 Congress put such a high 
tax on the yellow phosphorus match as to destroy the business 
altogether. Surely this was '' stretching the Constitution," 
to use the taxing power not to raise money, but to prevent 
v/orking people from being poisoned. 

The federal government is in fact very close to the people. — 
Through these and similar measures the federal government 
is brought a great deal nearer to the people than it used to be. 
It not only guards us by a fleet and an army which most of 
us never see, but it now stands guard over much of the food 
we buy. It forbids the manufacture of certain poisonous 
and adulterated foods and the packing of diseased meats for 
interstate trade, and it has an army of civil employees study- 
ing foodstuffs and inspecting factories, packing houses, and 
shipments. It sends its postmen into the backward rural 
districts as well as along the streets of the city to deliver mail. 
When we send a piece of freight to another state or travel 
there on a railway, we pay charges which may be fixed by 
the Interstate Commerce Commission — a branch of the 
federal government. If a workman is injured on a railway 
which does business in more than one state, he may receive 
compensation under a law passed by the federal govern- 
ment. The prices of sugar, wool clothing, gloves, and a 
thousand other commodities depend in part upon the tax laid 
upon them by the federal government when they come into 
the United States from foreign countries. 

What the Government does for the Consumer 

In what ways the consumer is helpless. — It is only withm 
recent years that we have come to look to the federal govern- 
ment to protect us against exorbitant railway charges and 
against poisonous and adulterated foods and drugs. The 
old theory of political economy was : ''Let the purchaser 
beware. Any person is entitled to sell what he has to sell 



i8o American Citizenship 

at any price he can get, and if a purchaser is overcharged or 
buys adulterated drugs or foodstuffs, it is his own fault." 
This theory suited railway companies and manufacturers; 
but in time the consumers began to wonder whether it was 
altogether sound. They began to see how helpless the in- 
dividual shipper or passenger was in the face of powerful 
railway companies, and how impossible it was for the con- 
sumer to be an expert chemist and health officer in judging 
of all the food supplies which came to his table. 

What is "interstate commerce"? — Of course, Congress 
has no power to go into a state and say to a manufacturer 
or a butcher who sells only to his next-door neighbor, " You 
must not do this or that." Congress can control only inter- 
state commerce ; that is, only traffic, intercourse, travel, and 
trade carried on from a point in one state to a point in another. 
Congress, for example, cannot fix the railway rates from Chi- 
cago, Illinois, to Springfield, Illinois ; but it can fix the rates 
from Chicago, Illinois, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Again, if 
three or four business concerns unite to monopolize all of 
the trade within a single state. Congress cannot order them to 
disband ; but if a number of men in two or more states join 
in an attempt to control business and apportion the trade 
in these states among themselves. Congress can prevent it. 
If a manufacturer ships products into other states, Congress 
can forbid him to adulterate or otherwise misrepresent his 
goods. 

Federal regulation of railway rates. — It was not until 
railway building had been going on for nearly half a century 
that Congress began to interfere Tvdth rates for the benefit 
of shippers and consumers. In 1887 Congress passed the 
first interstate commerce act regulating railways ; and this law 
has been added to, until to-day all the business of interstate 
railways is under the control of federal laws enforced by the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, a board of seven members 
appointed by the President and Senate. This law requires 



Services Rendered by Federal Government i8i 

railways to fix " reasonable " rates for freight and passengers 
and forbids them to charge different rates for the same 
services, thus helping favorite business concerns to undersell 
their rivals. The Commission has the power, on complamt 
of some interested person or group, to inquire whether 
any particular rate is reasonable, and on finding it unfair, 
to order the railway company to make a fair rate. In 1913 
Congress passed a law arranging for the physical valuation 
of railways — that is, for finding out what they actually cost 
to construct and operate — with a view to fixing fair rates. 
The government cannot very well fix a just rate unless it knows 
what it really costs the railway to do its work. Although 
we have spoken of the regulation of railway rates as being in 
the interest of the consumer, it must be admitted that it was 
the manufacturers and shippers seeking lower freight rates 
who were principally responsible for the government's under- 
taking this work. But of course the consumer may benefit 
by lower rates on the goods which he buys. 

Federal pure food laws. — The most important law 
designed particularly for consumers is the pure food and 
drug act (applicable to interstate trade) passed m 1906. 
This law forbids the sale of drugs that are not what they are 
represented to be or that differ from certain standards recog- 
nized in science. The sale of adulterated food is forbidden, 
and any food is held to be adulterated if its quality has been 
lowered by mixing other stuff with it, if any valuable part 
has been removed, if it is so stained, colored, or coated as 
to cover up damages, if it contains poisonous and injurious 
substances, or if it is unfit for use. The chief of the bureau 
of chemistry at Washington is principally responsible tor 
enforcing the law. Officers under him inspect manufactures 
all over the country, and carloads of adulterated goods have 
been destroyed. Many patent medicine concerns have 
been driven out of business by the simple rule that they must 
tell on the label of the bottle exactly what is inside. 



1 82 American Citizenship 

Federal food inspection and study. — The government in- 
spectors may condemn meats, or may put the seal of ap- 
proval on them by marking them '' U. S. inspected and 
passed." Canning and preserving rooms are visited, and the 
contents of bottles, cans, jars, and boxes examined by expert 
chemists who are always searching for some injurious and 
dangerous chemical used to color or preserve. In order to 
educate the public to discriminate in its purchases, bulletins 
are issued by the government showing the relative food 
values of different articles as determined by chemical analysis 
and experiments on animals and men. When Dr. H. W- 
Wiley was chief of the bureau of chemistry, he had a " poison 
squad " ; that is, a group of men who tested the effects of 
certain foods by actually consuming large quantities and 
studying the results on their own systems. 

The importance of watching our food supplies carefully. — 
How important this investigation really is becomes apparent 
when we realize that cheap bakery products " are in large 
part made up of spoiled eggs shipped in carload lots and 
deodorized by formaldehyde. Pie fillings, which are inde= 
scribably nauseous, are sold in wholesale lots to restaurants 
and bakeries. Tarts, jams, and ice creams are made of 
fictitious foods." To show how it is possible to use chemi- 
cals in foods, a laboratory recently prepared a meal '^ without 
a particle of real food in it — a feast that had all the appear- 
ance of wholesome dishes, but was entirely substanceless." 

Should the consumer he protected against other schemes for 
cheating f — At the present time, the government does not 
make any attempt to interfere with the manufacture of 
clothing and other commodities not used for food ; but several 
attempts have been made in Congress to secure a law requir- 
ing linen, silk, wool, and cotton stuffs to be accurately labeled 
to prevent shoddy and cheap mixtures. It was argued 
that the purchaser of such commodities was frequently 
unable to tell the difference between pure wool and mixed 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 183 

cloth, and that it was as necessary to protect the consumer 
against adulterated cloth and paper-soled shoes as against 
varnished chocolates. No action has yet been taken, but 
there are many who believe that positive standards in manu- 
factures should be established by the government to protect 
the consumer against all kinds of misrepresentation. 

What the Government does for the Manufacturer 

The theory of a protective tariff. — One of the very first 
things that the federal government did after it was estab- 
lished in 1789 was to aid American manufacturers by putting 
a tariff upon European goods which competed with their 
own products. Advocates of protection in those days de- 
clared that the United States was a new country with very 
few industries and not much money to invest and that our 
business men needed protection against the old and well 
established concerns of Europe in order to get a start. That 
was the '' infant industry " argument : '' Give our small 
and young industries protection against the big manufactories 
of Europe until they are established and thus make the 
United States industrially as well as politically independent 
of the Old World." Many who advocated a protective tariff 
in those days looked upon it as a temporary thing, to be 
thrown aside as soon as our industries had developed, and 
were ready to meet foreign competitors on an equal basis. 

The 'present defense of protection. — For a long time, the 
'' infant industry " argument was kept prominently before 
the public, but of later years little has been heard of it, for 
the reason that our industries in most fields have grown 
into giants. More recently the policy of protection has been 
defended on the ground that American employers would be 
compelled to reduce the wages of their workingmen if they 
had to cut their prices to meet those of European manufac- 
turers who do not have to pay as much to get their work 



1 84 American Citizenship 

done. From this point of view, protection is not looked upon 
as a benefit to employers particularly, but as a safeguard for 
American workingmen against '' the pauper labor of Europe." 
Certainly this is the argument most frequently used in 
appealing to the working classes to support at the polls the 
policy of protection. 

The tariff and foreign labor. — As a matter of fact, how- 
ever, the tariff must be viewed principally as an aid to manu- 
facturers, and only incidentally to American workingmen. 
The latter cannot be said to enjoy much protection from the 
" cheap laborers of Europe," while such laborers can have 
a free entrance into the United States and can come over and 
go back home for a few dollars. Indeed, the '' native Ameri- 
can workingman " is now about pushed out of the great 
protected industries by foreigners who crowd to this country 
by the hundreds of thousands every year. 

The free trade theory. — There has been all along much op- 
position to protection. Free traders who want no protec- 
tive tariff at all oppose it on principle. They say that goods 
will be produced at the place where they can be manufactured 
cheapest, if the government does not interfere by a tariff. 
Countries with great mines of coal and iron will naturally 
produce steel and iron products ; tropical countries will 
produce cotton and raw materials on account of their soil 
and climate; the great western prairies will grow corn and 
wheat because their climate and soil are suited to that 
purpose ; and so on throughout the whole range of agricul- 
ture and manufacturing. On this theory, every country or 
every region will '^ naturally " settle down to the industries 
and occupations for which it has the climate, soil, resources, 
and skill, and will exchange its commodities with other coun- 
tries or regions for the things it cannot produce readily and 
cheaply. '' You could grow bananas in hothouses in Maine 
if you would put a high tariff on bananas from the tropics," 
says the free trader, *' but the consumer would have to pay 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 185 

five times as much for them and the workingmen employed 
in the hothouses had better be at some other work for 
which the climate and soil of Maine are well suited." ^ 

The practical tariff question. — This is of course an exag- 
geration, and even the protectionist disclaims any intention 
of doing such an absurd thing. To such a contention he 
replies : '^ There are very few of the great industries — 
iron and steel, boot and shoe, cotton and woolen — which 
cannot be carried on reasonably well in any of the nations 
of the northern hemisphere, and it is only those industries 
for which we are obviously well equipped by resources, 
climate, and labor, that we desire to protect." In fact, there 
are very few extreme free traders who would abolish all 
protection for American industries, and there are no ad- 
vocates of protection who would carry their plans to the 
absurd length of protecting the banana industry in Maine. 
The whole matter then resolves itself into a very practical 
question : ^^ Since we must raise some revenues by putting 
taxes on goods coming in from foreign countries, and since 
we ought to help American industries where they really 
need protection against cheap labor in Europe, on what 
commodities shall we impose duties, and how high shall the 
duties be? " 

The tariff is always a compromise. — This is where the tug 
of war comes in politics. Farmers are willing to have the 
tariff taken off of agricultural implements, but they are 
very vigorous in their demand for protection against Cana- 
dian farm products. Mill owners are willing to see 
the tariff removed from Canadian food products, but they 
prophesy ruin if it is reduced on their manufactures. Lou- 
isiana is anxious to have a high duty on sugar because she 
produces cane sugar, but she is not unwilling to cut the duty 
on boots and shoes, made principally in New England. It is 

^ Free traders also oppose customs duties because they are taxes on con- 
sumers and have no relation to ability to pay. 



1 86 American Citizenship 

because the manufacturers and farmers of each section of 
the country demand protection for their particular indus- 
tries that it is impossible to base a tariff upon any theory 
of what ought to be done. The tariff is a compromise in 
which each section gets what it can by bargaining with the 
other sections. 

The tariff commission. — An attempt was made recently, 
however, to put the tariff on a more reasonable basis by 
having a commission investigate the cost of producing com- 
modities in Europe and the United States with a view to 
laying just enough duty on each commodity to place our man- 
ufacturers on an even footing with European competitors. 
The advocates of this method of fixing tariff duties say, for 
example : '' Take a three-dollar pair of shoes. If the actual 
cost of labor and raw materials in them is 10 per cent higher 
in the United States than in Europe, then the American 
manufacturer should be protected to just that extent and 
no more." There are difficulties, it must be admitted, in 
the way of finding out the exact cost of manufacture in all 
countries, and it seems as if we should go on indefinitely mak- 
ing our tariffs on the compromise basis of each section of 
the country getting what it can. 

Reciprocity. — The tariff may be used to develop our trade 
with foreign countries as well as to protect our own indus- 
tries. That aspect of the matter v>'as emphasized by one 
of the most eminent of all our advocates of protection, 
President ]\IcKinley, shortly before his death. He seemed 
inclined to hold that when protection had put our industries 
into such a shape that ihey could meet foreign competition, 
one of its chief uses would be to force open more markets 
abroad. The champion of reciprocity puts his doctrine in 
the form of an address to a foreign country : " You now have 
a high tariff on certain of our American goods, and we have 
a high tariff on some of yours. If you will lower your rates 
in our favor and thus increase our business with you, we will 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 187 

reduce our rates on your goods and give you a better chance 
in our markets." 

Searching for foreign trade. — There are other ways in 
which the federal government seeks to help our manufacturers 
secure foreign business. It maintains in all the important 
cities of the world, American consuls, whose business, among 
other things, is to study the local markets and report to the 
government at Washington any chances to sell American 
goods. These reports are published and circulated among 
manufacturers. If there is a demand for windmills in Siam 
or for light automobiles in Manchuria, the American consul 
will find it out and report the matter home for the informa- 
tion of those interested. The government also demands 
equal privileges for American merchants and financiers in 
China and other Oriental countries, and in 1900 joined with 
Germany, England, and other European countries to defend 
Americans engaged in trading and missionary enterprises in 
China. The Department of Commerce is constantly study- 
ing ways of increasing foreign trade. 

The trust question. — While protecting manufacturers 
against foreign competition, the federal government inter- 
feres at home to protect the small manufacturer against his 
neighbors who combine to undersell and otherwise defeat 
him in business. Big and little manufacturers are often 
more at odds over the best policy for the government to adopt 
than are the manufacturers and their employees, and they 
are frequently found working against each other at Washing- 
ton when legislation affecting business is under discussion. 
This leads us into the most important question in the United 
States to-day, — the trust question, — and we should try to 
go to the heart of it. 

The old theory of competition. — Many years ago when 
manufacturing by machinery on a considerable scale first 
began in the United States, our theory of business was about 
as follows : '^ Any enterprising man with a little capital can 



1 88 American Citizenship 

go into manufacturing on a small scale and can, by manage- 
ment and skill, become a master of some magnitude." Take 
a single example in the boot and shoe industry. A shoe- 
maker started with a small shop; he added one machine 
after another, until in time he became a great mill owner. 
Other shoemakers found their way up in the same fashion. 
The ambition of men to go into business for themselves 
and the desire of people with money to invest it profitably 
made competition in the boot and shoe business very keen, 
so that the prices of boots and shoes were kept down to about 
the lowest point at which the product could be made. 
Writers on political economy said : '' This is a * natural ' 
state of industry. It gives enterprising men a chance, and 
it keeps prices down to a fair level. All the government has 
to do is to keep its hands off, and everything will be well." 
How big combinations and trusts grew up. — Unhappily 
for the theorists, this " natural " state of industry did not 
go on in the old way. The most enterprising of the busi- 
ness men in the great industries — iron and steel, copper, 
sugar, and so on — began to destroy the less enterprising 
by showing more skill and zeal in management. The big 
manufacturer with a large output could undersell the little 
manufacturer and drive him to the wall. In time there came 
to be a few great masters of business in the staple industries 
just mentioned, and they warred with each other with might 
and m_ain, cutting prices, advertising widely, and employ- 
ing ail kinds of schemes to get advantages over one another. 
Many competitors went down to ruin in this industrial war 
among big captains of industry. In time, some of the 
shrewdest said : " What folly it is for us to be wasting all 
this strength trying to beat one another to the wall. Let us 
come together, put all of our competing plants into the hands 
of trustees (hence the term ' trust '), stop this fierce compe- 
tition, fix the prices of our goods, and prevent over-produc- 
tion one year and a panic the next." Thus the trust or com- 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 189 

bination was born of competition — the very methods 
which theorists thought would remain forever as the '' natu- 
ral system of business." 

The unfair methods of trusts. — As soon as a trust was 
formed, it began to wage war on any rivals left in the field. 
It did this not only by fair underselling, but also by other 
methods. It entered into secret agreements with railways 
whereby the latter, while apparently charging all concerns 
the same freight rates for the same shipments, in fact returned 
a part or all of the money paid by the trust. This practice 
was called the payment of ^' rebates." Often the trust 
would sell below cost in some parts of the country where it 
had competitors, and would drive them out by ruinous com- 
petition, while in other parts where there were no rivals 
it would put the prices up high enough to make up the 
loss. Prices were no longer settled by competition, but by 
the managing boards of trusts. The man with small capital 
thus had little or no chance of starting for himself in any of 
the great staple industries. 

The federal law against trusts — the Sherman act of 1890. 
— Then it happened that the thousands of small business 
men who were being crowded to the wall by the fair and 
foul means of the trusts began to demand government 
interference with business. At length in 1890 the federal 
government responded to the cry for help. All of the great 
trusts were engaged in interstate commerce and thus came 
under the power of Congress. In that year. Congress 
forbade all trusts, agreements, and combinations in restraint 
of interstate and foreign trade, and made provision for pun- 
ishing persons guilty of forming them. For more than ten 
years, this law was not enforced, and all the while the trusts 
were multiplying in number and size. Finally the govern- 
ment began to prosecute some of the trusts and break them 
up. It was hard to " unscramble eggs," as one financier 
put it, but some of the big trusts, like the Standard Oil and 



I go American Citizenship 

Tobacco concerns, were *' dissolved " into a score or more 
separate companies. 

Present theories about what to do with the trusts. — 
Nobody was satisfied with the outcome. Small business 
men still complained that the government had not broken 
the trusts into enough parts, and that they could not even 
compete with any of the score or more of large companies 
into which the original trusts were divided. The public 
complained that prices were higher, if anything, after the 
dissolution than before. Four leading views were put for- 
ward by eminent men as to what should be done next. These 
views we shall try to state here, as they form the basis of 
political strife to-day. 

The advocates of a radical breaking up of the trusts. — 
A group of persons who advocate further war on the trusts, in 
the form of breaking them up, hold that the trust is not a 
natural result of competition, but that it has been built up 
by unfair practices, such as rebates and underselling, and 
that it has been fostered by the tariff which shuts out 
European comj)etition. Their remedy is to divide each trust 
into a number of very small concerns, to force them to 
compete with one another by preventing their coming to- 
gether in any form, and to stop all kinds of unfair practices 
— rebates and the like. Into just how many parts a big 
trust should be broken in order to give the small man a 
chance and just what practices in competition are to be 
deemed unfair and to be forbidden are questions on which 
this group of people are divided, however. 

Regulation of the trusts. — A second group of persons hold 
that the trust is the inevitable outcome of competition, that 
if every unfair practice were forbidden, the race would be 
to the keenest and the strongest business men and the re- 
sult would be the formation of gigantic combinations just 
the same. They hold also that, even were each big trust 
broken into a hundred parts or a thousand parts, it would 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 191 

require an army of government inspectors to keep them 
competing with one another, and that in spite of everything 
they would come together some way or another in self-defense. 
It would be just as if all wealth were divided up and each 
man given an equal share ; the keen and scheming and thrifty 
would have it all back in a short time. This second group 
of people, therefore, are against breaking up the trusts and 
propose that the government should regulate them — their 
organization and their prices — by a board, just as it regu- 
lates the services and charges of railways (p. 180). This 
group say that competition is good only up to a certain 
point and that by properly using the advantages offered 
by the trusts — particularly large scale production — lower 
prices could be made to the public than could possibly be 
obtained under competition. 

The socialist theory about the trusts. — A third group of 
persons agree with the second in holding that the trusts are 
inevitable, and that dissolution is not only impossible but 
undesirable. They differ, however, in thinking that the 
government is powerful enough to control the gigantic con- 
cerns with their enormous wealth and political power. This 
group accordingly maintain that the only hope is for the 
government to buy out these great trusts and run them as 
government industries — just as it conducts the post office. 
The managers and employees of the trusts would continue 
at work, but as government employees. This group of advo- 
cates are known as socialists. They are not necessarily at 
war with the second group except that they believe gov- 
ernment regulation to be at best only a step to government 
ownership. The immediate issue is between those who 
believe in the forcible breaking up of trusts and forcible 
competition and those who believe in government regulation 
of prices and methods, for socialists are a minority group. 

Theory of " natural monopoly J^ — There is still a fourth 
group of persons who would combine some of the elements 



192 American Citizenship 

of each of the three theories just expounded. The members 
of this group beheve in government ownership of what they 
call '' natural monopolies '' — railways, telegraph lines, mines, 
and express companies — in which undertakings competition 
is well-nigh impossible or the supply is limited. A few years 
ago, Mr. Bryan announced himself in favor of public owner- 
ship of railways, and in 1913 Postmaster-General Burleson 
indorsed this solution of the transportation question. The 
government is now about to make an experiment in public 
ownership of mines and railways in Alaska. Some of those 
who believe in the government ownership of the natural mo- 
nopolies think that competition might very easily be main- 
tained in the other fields of business. 

What the Government does for the Farmers 

The public land grants to farmers. — It is partly due to 
the policy and work of the federal government that we are 
so largely a nation of farmers. From the establishment of 
the Constitution to the present time the national govern- 
ment has been a great landowner. When peace was made 
with Great Britain after the Revolutionary War the new 
country found itself in possession of enormous unoccupied 
tracts beyond the Alleghanies, stretching to the Mississippi. 
In 1803 the Louisiana territory was purchased from France ; 
in 1819 Florida was secured from Spain; in 1848 a vast 
region westward to the Pacific was acquired by the war with 
Mexico ; in 1867 Alaska was bought from Russia ; and in 
1898 the Hawaiian Islands were acquired and Porto Rico 
and the Philippines were added as a result of the Spanish 
War. 

The policy of the government in granting lands to farmers. 
— With each acquisition of territory the federal government 
has obtained new public domains. The lands already held 
by private parties within the territories, under the laws of 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 193 

the countries formerly owning them, have been left, of course, 
undisturbed, but the wild and unoccupied lands have fallen 
into the hands of the government. In the beginning it was 
thought that such lands ought to be sold to large companies 
for the purpose of getting money to apply toward the ex- 
penses of the national government, and for a long time this 
policy was actually followed. At length, however, the 
government began to adopt the policy of selling in small 
lots with a view to encouraging the settlement of farmers 
on the soil ; and finally, in 1862, by the famous Homestead 
Act, it provided that any person could secure 160 acres of 
government land by settling on it and cultivating it for a 
period of five years. 

Irrigation works. — By this policy the federal government 
has furnished free homes to millions who would have other- 
wise been renters or city dwellers, and it has now given away 
practically all of the land that is good for farming purposes. 
Finding the best land nearly all gone. Congress began in 
1902 to reclaim enormous tracts of desert and semi-arid lands 
by building irrigation systems. By a law passed in that 
year the proceeds from the sales of certain lands were to be 
devoted to building huge dams and storing water for distri- 
bution over the dry regions, and since that time some wonder- 
ful engineering feats have been accomplished by the govern- 
ment. Within six years over seven hundred thousand acres 
had been redeemed for cultivation. This land is sold in small 
tracts to actual settlers, and the money thus obtained is 
applied to new irrigation works. 

Agricultural colleges. — In addition to giving away the 
land to the farmers, the federal government has helped 
them in many ways to improve their methods, increase their 
crops, and make country life more agreeable. In the first 
place it has made enormous grants of lands to the states to 
aid them in founding and developing agricultural colleges 
where prospective farmers may be taught all the latest 



194 American Citizenship 

achievements of science in the field of agriculture. Further- 
more, Congress aids these colleges by direct grants of money 
— $50,000 a year each. Congress also appropriates money 
for agricultural stations in the several states, at which all 
kinds of experiments in fertilizing the soil, improving the 
breeds of stock and plants, and fighting insects and disease 
are carried on. 

The Department of Agriculture. — Congress established 
in 1862 a Department of Agriculture which now comprises 
a number of important bureaus and has an annual appro- 
priation of more than $16,000,000. A bureau of animal 
industry investigates the breeding, feeding, and diseases of 
animals ; a bureau of plant industry studies the best methods 
of improving crops by selecting seeds, introducing new grains 
and plants; a bureau of chemistry studies the problems of 
fertilizing the soil ; a bureau of soils has made a survey of 
more than one-fourth of the farm land of the country with 
a view to discovering the nature and kinds of the plants 
best suited to the several sections, and has prepared maps 
showing for what kinds of farming the various parts of the 
country are well adapted. A bureau of entomology wages 
war on the insects and diseases which attack plants, trees, 
and grains, and furnishes information as to the best methods 
of fighting them. Although these bureaus are principally 
for the study of agricultural problems, the results of their 
valuable investigations are speedily made available to the 
public through bulletins and disseminated through the state 
agricultural colleges to practical farmers. The weather 
bureau saves a great deal of money to the farmers (as well 
as to other people) by warning them of cold waves, frosts, 
and storms. 



/ 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 195 

The Federal Government and tece Industrial 

Workers 

The power of Congress over labor matters. — The federal 
government has no power under the Constitution as it now 
stands to regulate factories and foundries and mines as such ; 
its power over manufacturing is derived from its power to 
regulate interstate commerce and to lay taxes. The national 
government has so far taken more interest in the consumer 
of products made in factories than in the condition of the 
working people in them, and strict constructionists — 
those who would reduce the powers of Congress to the mini- 
mum — hold that while Congress can say to a manufacturer, 
'^ You cannot use this or that chemical in this food or drug," 
it has no power to say, '^ You must do this or that for the 
working people employed in making any commodity which 
you sell in interstate trade." In other words, from this 
point of view, the federal government can say to the manu- 
facturer of goods sold in more than one state, '' You shall not 
kill the consumer by poisons," but it has no right to add 
" or the producer either, by insanitary shops, low wages, 
long hours, and dangerous machines." 

Federal laws about labor. — The apparent exception to 
this rule is the case of railway employees engaged in inter- 
state commerce. In 1908 Congress enacted a law providing 
that common carriers engaged in interstate commerce shall 
be held liable for injuries sustained by employees in their 
service ; that is, a workman injured on such railways may 
secure a compensation graded according to the gravity of 
the injury. About the same time a federal law was passed 
limiting the hours of trainmen and telegraphers employed 
in interstate business — not merely because the hours were 
thought to be too long, but particularly because the public 
suffered from wrecks and other disasters which could be 
traced to the fact that employees had worked so long that 
they had fallen asleep at their duties. 



196 American Citizenship 

The Department of Labor. — Most of the work done by 
the federal government for labor is in the nature of securing 
information on labor problems and their solution. There 
is now a Department of Labor, established in 1913, which 
is authorized to study labor laws of the several states and 
of Europe, investigate all kinds of proposals to improve the 
lot of working people, and to publish reports for the use 
of the public. There has been recently established a bureau 
of mines charged with investigating the causes of disasters 
in mines and helping to educate miners in taking scientific 
care to prevent explosions and other accidents. Although 
the bureau cannot order a mining company to make any 
changes necessary to safeguard its employees, it can pub- 
lish its reports and indirectly call the attention of the 
state labor department to the existing conditions. In the 
Department of Labor there is also a children's bureau, 
established for the purpose of investigating all kinds of 
matters having to do with the care, health, education, and 
labor of children. 

Competition with foreign labor. — Under its power to 
regulate foreign commerce. Congress does a little to protect 
working people against cheap foreign labor. It forbids 
altogether the immigration of Chinese common laborers, 
and it forbids any American manufacturer to arrange by 
contract to bring in foreign laborers of any nationality. 
The prohibition of Chinese labor is effective ; but the Ameri- 
can laborer is thrown into competition with European immi- 
grants brought over by the hundreds of thousands by steam- 
ship companies. The low steerage rates make Europe nearer 
to the United States now than New York City was to Chicago 
three generations ago. In fact, American industries are 
now manned to a very large extent not merely by laborers 
of foreign origin but by non-naturalized foreigners. 

Immigration. — The federal government has entire control 
over the admission of foreigners into the United States, and 
it now excludes by law the following classes : 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 197 

Criminals, diseased, and insane persons and those likely 
to be a public charge. 

Chinese and other Oriental laborers. 

Laborers imported under contract to work for specified 
employers. 

The steady increase in the number of foreigners coming 
into the United States, and particularly the drift of the 
foreigners to the great cities have led to the proposal of 
new tests designed to reduce materially the number of immi- 
grants admitted.^ The most prominent new test suggested 
is a literacy test, requiring immigrants to be able to read and 
write. To this it is objected that it would keep out a large 
number of able-bodied and useful working men and women, 
and might readily admit the worst and most useless persons 
in the world. Another method suggested for reducing im- 
migration is to cut down automatically the number coming 
from any one country to a certain percentage of the number 
coming last year ; for example, if 100,000 came from a given 
country last year, admit only 75,000 this year. The number 
of immigrants coming into the United States during the year 
ending June 30, 1913, was 1,197,892, and the total number 
between 1824 and 1913 is estimated at over 30,000,000. 

Labor employed by the government. — The government 
is also directly or indirectly an employer of labor on a large 
scale, and it has established certain standards as to hours 
and wages. Where working people are employed directly 
by the government, as in ship yards or public works, the 
hours and wages are fixed under acts of Congress. When 
the government engages contractors to build ships, construct 
buildings, and do other public work, it stipulates as to the 
conditions under which the labor is to be done. The govern- 
ment may thus become a ^' model employer." 

1 The administration of the immigration law is in the hands of officers at 
each port and under the supervision of the commissioner general of immi- 
gration in the Department of Labor at Washington. 



igS American Citizenship 

Business Undertakings of the Government 

The post office. — From the beginning of our government 
under the Constitution, carrying the mails has been a public 
undertaking. In 1789 there were 75 post offices, and about 
$37,000 worth of business was done. In 1909 there were 
over 60,000 post offices, and nearly a quarter of a billion 
dollars^ worth of business was transacted. In the beginning 
it cost twenty-five cents to send a letter more than 450 
miles ; now a letter can be sent from Maine to the Philip- 
pines for two cents, and recently arrangements have been 
made to send letters to England and Germany for two cents. 

The services rendered hy the post office. — In the beginning 
the government confined its operations to carrying letters 
and papers from one post office to another, but it has grad- 
ually extended its work, until to-day it maintains the fol- 
lowing services : 

It registers letters so as to guarantee their safe delivery. 

It transmits money by means of post-omce orders. 

It delivers mail in towns of 10,000 inhabitants, and, by a system 
of rural free delivery, it carries mail over thousands of miles of 
country roads to the farmers. 

Since January, 1911, it has been engaged in the banking business, 
accepting deposits at thousands of designated branches and paying 
a low rate of interest on the money so deposited. 

In January, 1913, it established a system for carrying parcels. 

In 1913 the Postmaster-General urged Congress to follow 
the example of England and combine the telegraph business 
with the transmission of mails. 

Natural resources. — In 1910 the federal government 
possessed in the United States and Alaska over 700,000,000 
acres of land, most of which is rugged and mountainous and 
unsuited for farming purposes. Nevertheless, it is of price- 
less value on account of the timber, and the coal, iron, and 
other mineral deposits, and the waterfalls which may be used 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 199 

for power. What is to be done with this immense heri- 
tage is one of the most momentous public questions to-day. 
Formerly, it was the practice of the government to sell its 
lands as rapidly as possible at a low price, even when it was 
known that rich mineral deposits existed on them or that 
valuable timber could be immediately cut on them. But on 
account of the rapidly diminishing area of lands, the lavish 
giving of public property to private persons without any 
adequate return is being strongly opposed, and this has made 
what is called " the conservation of our natural resources " 
an issue of first importance. 

Proposals for dealing with our natural resources. — At this 
moment the government is in a state of indecisioii. The old 
policy of giving away public property for the benefit of huge 
timber and mineral corporations is no longer possible; but 
no consistent line of action has been marked out for the 
future. Broadly speaking, three policies are now under 
discussion : 

1. The lands now owned by the federal government in the several 
states may be granted to the states to be disposed of by them as 
they see fit. Most of the opposition to this policy comes from those 
who believe that as soon as the states seem^e possession of the 
property, timber and mining companies will snatch them from 
corrupt state legislatures. 

2. The lands may be retained permanently by the federal gov- 
ernment and (a) leased out to private operating companies at a 
certain rental on the coal or other minerals mined or water power 
developed or timber cut ; or (6) the federal government might go 
into the business itself, either by employing persons directly or 
having contractors do the work. 

3. The lands may be valued at something like their real price, 
based on surveys, and sold to private concerns for the benefit of 
the public treasury. 

The big problem is how to get these resources into eco- 
nomical use and avoid giving anything to private persons 
without suitable return. 



200 American Citizenship 

Surveying the national domains. — At the present time enor- 
mous areas of coal, timber, and water power lands have 
been withdrawn from sale, and are being carefully studied 
and classified by the United States geological survey. Con- 
gress has made provision for separating the surface of the 
land from the coal under it in making sales, so that when 
a farmer takes up a certain area for agricultural purposes 
he does not necessarily acquire title to rich coal mines which 
may be discovered underground. Congress has also made 
provision for leasing waterfalls now in the possession of 
the federal government instead of selling them outright or 
giving them away. In 1912 more than 10,000,000 head of 
sheep, horses, and cattle were grazing on public lands un- 
der government permits, and from the national forests, 
800,000,000 feet of timber were sold. In a short time we 
shall have a complete survey of the national resources, and 
they will be classified according to the uses to which they 
may be put. Then Congress will have the information on 
which to base a regular policy of action. 

River and harbor improvements. — In addition to carry- 
ing on great irrigation works and managing enormous natural 
resources, the federal government is constantly engaged in 
making extensive river and harbor improvements. It has 
spent vast sums building levees on the lower Mississippi 
and in dredging shallow streams to make them available for 
navigation. It is steadily at work deepening the entrances, 
building breakwaters, and otherwise improving harbors for 
ocean trade all around the coast from Maine to California. 
This work is usually done under the direction of the Depart- 
ment of War, and its execution is under the control of the 
expert engineers of the United States. 

The ivaste of public funds in such schemes. — Unfortunately, 
however, there is frequently more politics than business in 
the making of public improvements. Each locality that 
has the slightest claim is always clamoring for the govern- 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 201 

ment to spend money there, making one kind of improve- 
ment or another, and the representatives of such districts 
in Congress devote a great deal of time working to secure 
grants from the public treasury for their respective regions. 
Thus it occurs that these improvements are not always 
made because there is a real need for them or because 
business or trade interests require them, but rather because 
the politicians have been able to worm the money out of the 
Treasury. Little creeks are dredged at a cost exceeding 
the value of all the steamboats and goods that will pass 
through them; works are begun and abandoned because 
some other congressman has been able to get the money 
away from the district; and so public funds are wasted. 

The Panama Canal. — The most gigantic business enter- 
prise ever undertaken by the federal government was the 
construction of the canal across the isthmus of Panama. 
A small strip of land ten miles wide was secured from the 
republic of Panama in 1904 and the building of the canal 
under the direction of the War Department was quickly 
begun. The government has employed between thirty and 
sixty thousand men on the work, has housed them, managed 
the food supplies, guarded them against disease, and carried 
on the undertaking with great skill and dispatch. The total 
estimated cost is about $375,000,000, and the government 
expects to derive a large revenue from the tolls which are 
to be charged ships passing through the canal. 

Building national highways. — In the early part of the 
nineteenth century the federal government sought to help in 
the development of the backward regions by the construc- 
tion of highways, and the famous National Road is one of 
its best-known achievements in this line. It was in 1838 
that Congress made its last appropriation for that road. 
Those who believed in states' rights did not want the federal 
government to engage in this business, and the rapid build- 
ing of railway lines seemed to make it unnecessary to the 



202 American Citizenship 

shipping and carrying interests. However, at the opening 
of the twentieth century the development of the automobile 
and the extension of the rural free delivery system led mem- 
bers of Congress to begin new plans for federal road building. 
On August 24, 1912, Congress made a small appropriation 
of $500,000, to be expended by the Postmaster-General and 
the Secretary of Agriculture in building '' experimental and 
rural delivery routes." In order for a state to get any of 
this money it must agree to spend two dollars for each dol- 
lar furnished by the federal government. In the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture extensive experiments in road building 
and road-material testing are being carried on for the public 
benefit. 

Federal Health Work 

Health not altogether a local concern. — Although we have 
long looked upon the care of health as a local matter to be 
put in charge of city, county, and village officers, the national 
government does many noteworthy things to protect us 
against disease, and scientists are turning more and more 
toward state and national authorities as the proper agencies 
to guard public health. Disease is not a local matter. It 
spreads over county, city, state, and national boundaries 
Uke magic, completely ignoring " states' rights " and political 
parties. For this reason, very vigorous efforts have been 
made recently to have Congress create a national Depart- 
ment of Health with a chief having a seat in the Cabinet of 
the President. 

Inspection of immigrants. — This law has not yet been 
passed, and at the present time the health work of the federal 
government is divided up among several bureaus. In the 
Department of Agriculture there are the bureau of chemistry 
and the board of food and drug inspection which have charge 
of enforcing the pure food and drug law of which we have 
spoken (p. 181). At all ports incoming ships are inspected 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 203 

by federal officers, and any ship found to have on board 
persons suffering from dangerous contagious diseases is put 
into quarantine until all danger is over. The immigration 
laws exclude all immigrants affected with tuberculosis or 
loathsome and dangerous diseases, and at the ports of 
entry health officers examine immigrants, and compel the 
steamship companies to take back home those found to be 
physically unfit to enter the country. 

The '' public health service." — For a number of years 
the federal government has maintained a '' Public Health 
and Marine Hospital Service " which has done splendid 
work in helping fight disease in all parts of the United States. 
When the Asiatic cholera invaded the Gulf States in 1905 
the experts in that service responded to a call for aid, and by 
cooperating with local agencies quickly stamped out the 
disease. Again, in 1907, when the bubonic plague attacked 
San Francisco, that bureau sent out skilled scientists who 
worked with the local health officers and discovered that rats 
were largely responsible for the spread of the disease. By 
stringent measures and a war on rats, the plague was stopped 
within a short time, greatly to the relief of the imperiled 
city. 

The reorganization of federal health work in 1912, — In 
1912 the bureau was reorganized and given the name of 
^' The Public Health Service." It was authorized to '^ study 
and investigate the diseases of man and the conditions influ- 
encing the propagation and spread thereof, including sani- 
tation and sewage and the pollution, either directly or 
indirectly, of the navigable streams and lakes of the United 
States, and it may from time to time issue information in 
the form of publications for the use of the public." The 
federal government thus expressly authorizes a widespread 
and exhaustive scientific research into the causes of disease, 
and the results of this work will be laid before the public 
and used by the state and local officers in fighting disease. 



204 American Citizenship 

The federal government now wages war with the test tube 
and microscope, as well as with the sword and bayonet. 

National Defense 

The standing army. — Congress has full power to raise and 
support armies and navies, and it may call to the service of 
the federal government every able-bodied male citizen in 
the United States. Unlike several of the great powers of 
Europe, we do not require every man to serve in the army for 
a period of two or three years. Our regular or standing 
army is composed entirely of volunteers who choose that 
career of their own free will. Volunteers must serve four 
years with the flag and three years more in the reserve, 
subject to call at any time. At the time of the Spanish 
War our regular army consisted of only 25,000 men, but in 
1898 Congress provided that it should consist of at least 
57,000 men and not more than 100,000, as the President 
may decide. At the present time it numbers about 82,000, 
including all the officers. 

The militia. — Each state has a small military force known 
as the militia, composed of men who volunteer. Those who 
join the militia, however, do not leave their regular employ- 
ments, but merely drill on certain afternoons or evenings, 
and, perhaps, go into encampments for field work during a 
few days of each year. These militiamen may be called into 
the national service at any time by the President, and the 
federal government has arranged to give them a chance to 
participate in the field practice of the regular army so that 
they may gain more experience in manoeuvres and tactics. 

The reserve militia. — The great body of men who are not 
in the regular army or members of the state militia compose 
what is known as '' the reserve militia," and they too may be 
called into military service by the President at any time there 
is need for them. As a matter of fact, however, the chief 



Services Rendered hy Federal Government 205 

reliance for national defense in time of war is the volun- 
teers who place themselves at the service of the government 
for a definite period. Fortunately for the United States we 
have no powerful neighbors with whom we are on such uneasy 
terms as exists in the case of France and Germany, and it is 
not necessary to maintain an enormous standing army or 
to require compulsory service. Moreover, Americans have 
been afraid of regular armies in the command of ambitious 
generals, and have placed their main reliance upon the citi- 
zen soldiers who volunteer in time of crisis. Of course, there 
is some danger in pitting them against disciplined veterans, 
but the danger and the waste of time involved in getting 
them into good fighting order are offset by the freedom from 
the heavy expenses and from the military spirit which large 
standing armies require. 

The navy. — Until the Spanish War the navy did not enlist 
as much public interest as the army, and there was little 
thought of entering into competition with the great powers of 
Europe for dominion on the seas. During the War of 1812, 
American sailors rendered a good account of themselves in 
several sea fights, but the Mexican and Civil wars were 
principally land wars. Inasmuch as nearly all of our territory 
was compact on the North American continent, it was 
thought that good coast defenses and a few battleships would 
suffice for national defense. The acquisition of the Philip- 
pines and Hawaii and Porto Rico, however, changed all of 
that, and made it clear that in case of a war with a European 
or Asiatic power it would be necessary to have a large navy to 
defend the distant possessions. Then the excellent fighting 
of the navy during the Spanish War aroused an immense 
popular enthusiasm. 

Rapid increase in naval expenditures, — Since that time 
the navy has been growing rapidly. In 1911-1912 the United 
States stood next to Great Britain in the amount of money 
spent for naval purposes, and at the same time the American 



2o6 American Citizenship 

navy, measured in tonnage, was third among the world's 
navies — Great Britain and Germany being ahead. Ger- 
many and England are going forward at breakneck speed, 
building huge battleships, and if the United States expects to 
keep up with them, it must be prepared to spend its treasure 
as they do, at the sacrifice of important home undertakings. 

The command of the army and navy. — Congress alone can 
declare war against any foreign country, but if we are 
attacked, the President can of course bring our forces into 
the field without waiting for Congress to act. Indeed, since 
the President carries on all negotiations with other powers, 
he may very well act in such a manner as to bring on war ; 
this is what President Polk did in the controversy with Mexico 
in 1845. The President is commander-in-chief in time of 
peace as well as in time of war, and when war is begun he 
may take the field himself if he chooses. No President has 
done this, but all of the Presidents who have been compelled 
to wage war have shared more or less in directing the cam- 
paigns. Of course, the President acts with the advice of the 
generals in the field and his military advisers — the general 
staff — at Washington. During the Spanish War, for exam- 
ple. President McKinley had one room of the V/hite House 
fitted up as a '^ war room " with telegraphic communications 
to the front and to all parts of the world. In that room the 
records of every move by the army and navy were made, and 
directions prepared and issued to those in command on the 
fighting line. 

Pensions for soldiers. — In addition to spending enormous 
sums in preparing for war, our government is most lavish in 
pensioning those who have served in past wars. For a long 
time it was the policy to pension only those soldiers actually 
injured in service or those soldiers' families which were left 
in poverty by the death of the breadwinners. In 1890 
Congress began granting pensions to soldiers, not on a basis 
of their injuries or service but according to " the degree of 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 207 

inability to earn a support." The amount of pension granted 
has been increased several times, and in 1912 Congress passed 
a law granting larger pensions to soldiers, on the basis of their 
terms of service and their age, amounting to as much as $30 
a month to soldiers over 75 who served at least three years. 
In that year there were about 860,000 soldiers, widows, 
and other pensioners on the roll, and $152,000,000 was 
appropriated for their benefit — a sum which is materially 
increased by the new law just mentioned. 

The Peace Movement 

The cost of wars. — If we put the cost of past wars, the 
pension fund, and the cost of preparing for war together, 
we find that far more than one-half of all the revenues of the 
federal government go for military purposes — 72 per cent in 
1909, leaving only 28 per cent for the purposes of peace. 
This fact alone should make us all thoughtful. But there are 
other reasons for thinking seriously about the question of 
putting an end to war altogether. Not only does it seem 
folly to spend so much for warlike purposes when there is so 
great need of making this world a better place to live in, but 
the horrors of all wars and the injustice of most of them should 
make us inquire whether a peaceful way of settling disputes 
among nations cannot be found. 

War against war. — Many of the leading statesmen of the 
world are now giving this matter their earnest attention, and 
millions of workingmen in the various countries have declared 
" war on war," announcing that they do not intend to shoot 
and be shot in order that governments may grab more lands 
or that capitalists may invest their money abroad more 
safely. In 1897 the Tsar of Russia called a conference of 
representatives of all the countries of the world at the Hague 
to discuss the limitation of armaments. That conference 
led to the establishment of a Court of Arbitration to which, 



2o8 American Citizenship 

on occasion, countries engaged in a quarrel may submit 
their case, thus leaving the decision to the judgment of fair- 
minded men. As a result of that conference also, most of the 
nations, by treaties among themselves, have agreed to submit 
all differences which do not ^' affect the vital interests, the 
independence, or honor of either of the parties or the inter- 
ests of third nations,'"' to the judgment of this Court. 

Arbitration treaties. — Of course, this exemption of matters 
affecting vital interests and honor from arbitration practi- 
cally nullifies the arbitration treaties, for it is easy for any 
country to say that a trivial matter affects its '^ honor." 
For this reason, President Taft negotiated, in 1911, treaties 
with France and England, agreeing to submit to arbitration 
'' all matters justiciable (capable of settlement by a court) 
in their nature," thus bringing a little nearer a promise to 
submit all matters to arbitration. The Senate, however, 
refused to ratify the treaties in this form. Nevertheless, the 
growth of peace societies in numbers and influence, the recog- 
nition of the terrible cost of warlike preparations, the demand 
for more money for the peaceful and beneficent purposes of 
government, the discontent of the working classes everywhere 
with military service and with the thought of fighting one 
another to death for no advantages to themselves, — all these 
things point to a day when public opinion will demand a 
peaceful settlement of disputes among nations. 

Foreign Affairs 

The importance of the President's power in international 
affairs. — In maintaining friendly relations with other 
countries, a great deal depends upon the wisdom and modera- 
tion of the President, for he is the official spokesman of the 
country in its dealings with foreign powers. He negotiates 
treaties with the agents of other nations, but each treaty 
must have the approval of the Senate, a two-thirds vote being 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 209 

required in this case. He appoints our ambassadors and 
ministers to foreign countries, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. Through these official representatives 
the President communicates to other governments the policy 
of the United States on questions of international significance, 
and through them he receives information as to the policies 
and desires of the countries to which they are sent. He also 
appoints (with the consent of the Senate) the consuls who are 
our agents abroad in commercial and business affairs. 

How the President negotiates with other countries. — Pleas- 
ing and harmonious relations with other peoples depend in 
some measure upon the character of the men whom the 
President selects to represent us as ambassadors, ministers, 
and consuls. The President cannot declare war; but he 
can do many things which invite the hostility of other coun- 
tries. He may say things in his messages to Congress which 
may offend some other government, as was the case when 
President Cleveland in 1895 recommended Congress to take a 
certain action which looked like an interference in the quarrel 
between Great Britain and Venezuela, The President may 
also invite war by sending our troops or battleships out 
under such circumstances as to cause some other nations 
to view his action as positively hostile and menacing. It is 
therefore obvious that the President should be a man 
capable of acting with great caution and sobriety of judgment 
in dealing with foreign affairs. 

The Monetary System 

Gold and silver coinage. — The Constitution gives Con- 
gress the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof, 
and at the same time it forbids the states to coin money or 
issue bills of credit or to make anything but the gold and silver 
coin of the United States a legal tender in payment of debts. 
From the beginning of the national government down to 1900 



2IO American Citizenship ' 

there was much discussion over the amount of gold and silver 
to be put into the gold and silver dollars respectively. It is 
well known that an ounce of gold is worth several times as 
much as an ounce of silver, because it is the more precious 
of the two metals ; that is, it is not as plentiful, and is more 
highly prized in making ornaments and jewelry. If one 
ounce of gold is worth sixteen ounces of silver, as a pure metal 
or bullion on the market, it is clear that the silver in a silver 
dollar must have sixteen times the weight of the gold which 
is put into a gold dollar. If this is not done, the two dollars 
will not circulate equally as money. 

The " ratio " between gold and silver in coins. — If, for ex- 
ample, at a time when sixteen ounces of silver are worth one 
ounce of gold, the government should put seventeen times as 
much silver as gold in a dollar, gold dollars alone would cir- 
culate, for people would hold the silver dollars and melt them 
down for the pure silver, which could then be sold as bullion 
for more than it is worth in the coin. This difficulty of 
equally balancing the values of the two metals in the coins — 
maintaining the ratio it is called — has been the source of 
much of difficulty. 

The history of the " ratio " down to 1873. — In 1792 we 
began with the two metals at a ratio of 15 to 1, but it was soon 
found that at this ratio gold had been undervalued, and con- 
sequently little or no gold was brought to the Treasury to be 
coined into money. At length, in 1834, Congress by law 
fixed the ratio at approximately sixteen to one ; but this was 
found to be an overvaluation of gold, or an undervaluation of 
silver as some said, and the result was that silver was not 
brought to the treasury for coining and almost disappeared 
from circulation. Finally, in 1873, when the silver dollar was 
already practically out of circulation, Congress discontinued 
the coinage of silver dollars altogether, — ^' demonetized '^ 
it, and made gold the basis of the monetary system. 

The ^^ free silver " question. — It happened that about this 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 211 

time the price of silver began to decline steadily, until within 
twenty years it was about half what it was in 1870. Some 
men attributed this fall in the price of silver to the fact that 
Germany had demonetized it in 1871, and that rich deposits 
were about the same time discovered in the United States. 
Others declared that silver had not fallen so much in price, 
but that gold, in which it was measured, had risen because of 
the fact that silver had been demonetized and gold had been 
given a monopoly of the coinage. There was some truth on 
both sides, and good and wise people were sharply divided over 
the matter. In order to satisfy the demand of the '' silver " 
party, Congress provided in 1878 for buying large quantities 
of silver for coinage. The policy of buying silver for coinage 
lasted until 1893, when it was abandoned. Then came the 
famous fight over '^ free silver,'' in which the Democrats 
demanded the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio 
of sixteen to one, although the market ratio was more nearly 
thirty to one. The Democrats were defeated, and in 1900 
Congress positively made gold the basis of our monetary 
system. So things stand to-day. 

Paper money. — The Constitution does not expressly 
authorize Congress to issue any paper money, but neverthe- 
less we have several varieties in circulation. Each paper 
dollar is now backed up by a virtual promise to redeem in 
gold. During the Civil War the government secured 
money by issuing "treasury notes," or "Greenbacks,'' as they 
are called ; some of these notes were called in and others were 
made redeemable in specie in 1879, and the latter are, there- 
fore, placed on a metallic money basis. In addition to these 
treasury notes, there are " silver certificates " issued in the 
place of silver deposited in the government vaults. These 
certificates are more convenient than the metal, and they can 
be exchanged at any time for silver dollars, and the silver 
dollars can be exchanged for gold, so that they are on a gold 
basis also. In addition, there are also " gold certificates '' 
issued on somewhat the same plan. 



212 Aynerican Citizenship 

National hank notes. — Finally, there are the national bank 
notes issued by national banks in cities all over the country. 
These banks hold their charters from the federal government, 
and were formerly authorized to issue paper money on the 
basis of United States bonds and other securities deposited 
by them with the federal Treasury. In 1912 these national 
bank notes represented more than one-third of the money in 
circulation. The position of national banks has now been 
radically changed by the new law of 1913. 

The problem of national hanking. — This question of bank- 
ing has long been under earnest consideration, and several 
grave problems have been raised. How is it possible to 
adjust the amount of money in circulation to the demand for 
it in business? Some say that the entire work of issuing 
money should be left to the government, while others would 
enlarge the power of private banking corporations to issue 
notes under government supervision. How is it possible 
to prevent the money of the country from drifting to the 
large cities, particularly New York, and tending to come under 
the management of a few great business and financial con- 
cerns? Some say it is '' natural " for money to flow where 
there is the best demand for it, and others reply that even 
if this does come about naturally it enables a few bankers in 
the great cities to control the thousands of smaller banks and 
business people scattered throughout the country. 

The new banking law of December, 1913. — A serious 
attempt to solve these questions was made by Congress in the 
new banking law passed in December, 1913. This is a long 
and complicated measure which can hardly be understood 
by any person not familiar with banking operations, but we 
may note these leading features : 

1. Provision is made for federal governmental control. A 
Federal Reserve Board composed of the Secretary of the 
Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency and five 
persons appointed by the President and Senate of the United 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 213 

States is created to exercise general supervision over the whole 
national banking system. The country is to be laid out into 
not less than eight nor more than twelve great districts, and 
in each is designated a Federal Reserve Bank, controlled by 
six directors chosen by ''Member Banks" and three ap- 
pointed by the Federal Reserve Board. National banks 
must, and certain state banks in each district may, join in the 
scheme, and they are knoAvn as " Member Banks " sharing in 
the control, as above noted. 

2. The Federal Reserve Board may issue Reserve Notes, 
well secured,to the Reserve Banks to be put into general cir- 
culation. The money issued at the discretion of the Federal 
Reserve Board and 'on the basis of securities held by the 
Reserve and Member Banks is redeemable in gold and is the 
lawful money of the United States. By this law, it is appar- 
ent, an attempt has been made to solve the leading problems 
stated above: to secure federal governmental control, to give 
local banks a fair share in the management of the system, to 
distribute '' the money power " over a wide area, and to 
provide for the issue of notes to meet business demands. 

Raising Revenues for the Government 

The power of Congress to tax. — The federal government 
is under the necessity of arranging every year to meet its 
heavy bills. It must collect the money to pay them, and is 
almost entirely dependent upon taxes for its income. Con- 
gress has the power to lay all kinds of taxes, provided that 
indirect taxes (such as taxes on goods coming into the coun- 
try and on whisky and tobacco) shall be uniform — that is, 
equal on the same commodity everywhere in the nation ; and 
provided also that direct taxes (such as a tax on land) shall be 
apportioned among the states according to the number of 
their inhabitants. Furthermore, in 1913, Congress was 
given the power by the sixteenth amendment to lay an income 



214 American Citizenship 

tax (held by the Supreme Court to be a direct tax in 1895) 
without apportioning it according to population. 

The chief sources of federal revenues. — Congress decides 
what kinds of taxes shall be used to raise revenues, and the 
money which the federal government has to pay its expenses 
now comes from the following chief sources : 

(1) Customs duties on imports. 

(2) Excise taxes on whisky and tobacco (internal revenue). 

(3) Sales of public lands. 

(4) Post office receipts. 

(5) Taxes on the incomes of corporations. 

(6) Taxes on the incomes of private persons. Unmarried persons 
with incomes under $3000 a yea,r are exempt. For a married couple 
the exemption is $4000. 

The total receipts from all sources amount to nearly one billion 
dollars annually, and more than one-half of that amount is 
derived from the customs duties and internal revenues. 

Making the budget. — The appropriation of the money so 
raised by federal taxes and from other sources is also entirely 
in the hands of Congress, and it is a troublesome task which 
occupies the greater portion of the time of that body. Each 
Representative and Senator as a rule tries to get as much 
money as possible for his district or state. He demands 
post office buildings, river and harbor improvements, naval 
stations, and other public works which bring money to his 
neighborhood. The actual need for such works is generally 
not the thing which decides whether money is to be appro- 
priated for them or not. The congressmen bargain among 
themselves ; one member promises to vote for another 
member's post office in return for a vote for his own pet 
scheme. This practice is called '^ log-rolling/' and it wastes 
millions of dollars every year. Politicians actually bid for 
votes on the ground that they have got money out of the 
public treasury for their districts. Thus the local interest is 
often put above the national interest. 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 215 

Balancing the books. — Furthermore, there is Httle connec- 
tion between the taxes laid and the money spent by the 
federal government. The former are imposed separately, 
and not merely with a view to raising revenue, and so it 
happens that the federal treasury usually has either a surplus 
of money or a big deficit. Not often is there a nice balance 
between the income and outgo, and if it occurs, it is an acci- 
dent rather than a design. In view of this condition of 
affairs, proposals are being made to check log-rolling and make 
the federal bookkeeping more businesslike. But as long as 
the voters look upon a congressman as an agent whose chief 
business it is to get money from the treasury for his own dis- 
trict and find jobs for his friends, no reform can be effective. 

The Government of Territories 

The power of the federal government over territories. — 

In addition to all of the work which we have described, the 
federal government has the special task of governing directly 
the District of Columbia and other regions not organized into 
states: Porto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, the 
Canal Zone, Guam, and the Samoan Islands. The federal 
Congress has the power to decide how these regions shall 
be governed and also the power to admit any of them, except 
the District of Columbia, into the Union as states. It will 
be remembered that we started out with only thirteen 
states, and that the other thirty-five have been admitted to 
the Union by Congress. 

The District of Columbia. — The District of Columbia — 
the City of Washington — presents a peculiar problem. It 
has a population of 330,000, which is greater than that of each 
of several states, but at the present time the people of that 
District have absolutely no voice in their government. They 
are governed by three commissioners, appointed by the 
President and Senate, and by laws made in Congress. In 



2i6 American Citizenship 

fact, Congress is a sort of town council for the City and 
District. The city has been in part very beautifully laid 
out by the government, but its slums are among the worst in 
the country, and its death rate — that barometer of well- 
being — is among the highest of all the cities in the country. 
There is undoubtedly a great deal of dissatisfaction in Wash- 
ington with the system of government now in force, and a 
demand is made for some representation of the inhabitants 
in the government that controls them. 

The territories. — Porto Rico and the Philippines are each 
governed by a governor appointed by the President and 
Senate and by a legislature consisting of two houses, one 
made up of persons appointed in the same manner as the 
governor and the other house elected by the voters. Alaska 
was for a long time ruled by a governor alone, but in 1912 it 
was given a legislature of two houses, both elected by popu- 
lar vote; and the suffrage was soon conferred on women. 
The Hawaiian Islands have a governor appointed by the 
President and Senate and a legislature of two houses, elected 
by popular vote. The other territories are governed directly, 
without any legislature, through men appointed at Wash- 
ington. 

Questions 

1. What makes an industry national in character and how does 
this affect the government ? 

2. What is the states' rights position ? 

3. What is meant by a "liberal construction" of the Constitu- 
tion, and why is it sometimes employed ? 

4. What brings the national government close to each of us? 

5. What does the national government do for the farmer ? 

6. What does the national government do for the consumer ? 

7. What does the national government do for the industrial 
worker ? 

8. What does the national government do for the employer or 
manufacturer ? 



Services Rendered by Federal Government 217 

9. Name everything you can which comes under "interstate 
commerce." 

10. Why is so much attention paid to railway legislation ? 

11. What is meant by a protective tariff, and what is its theoreti- 
cal purpose ? How do results compare with the theory ? 

12. What is meant by free trade? What is its theory of pro- 
duction ? 

13. Why is the tariff always a compromise ? 

14. What is meant by reciprocity ? 

15. What are trusts, and why have they been formed ? 

16. What are the theoretical advantages of competition ? 

17. What are the prevailing theories about trust legislation ? 

18. In what business enterprises does the national government 
engage ? 

19. What is meant by the conservation of natural resources ? 

20. Describe our system of national defense. 

21. What are the causes of the agitation for international ar- 
bitration or peace ? 

22. What was the aim of the recent Currency Act ? 

23. How does the government finance its undertakings ? 

24. Is the national government businesslike in its methods of 
raising and spending money ? 

25. What are the territories of the United States and how are 
they governed ? 



Additional Reading ' 

Individual Freedom and Law : Kaye, Readings in Civil Govern- 
ment, pp. 392-497. 

The Department of State : Haskin, The American Government, 
pp. 14-26. 

The Work of the Treasury Department : Haskin, pp. 27-39. 

National Defense : Haskin, pp. 40-64. 

The Post Office : Haskin, pp. 65-77. 

Department of the Interior : Haskin, pp. 78-90. 

How the United States Encourages Inventions : Haskin, 
pp. 91-102. 

The Geological Survey: Haskin, pp. 103-116. 

Department of Agriculture : Haskin, pp. 117-129. 

The Weather Bureau : Haskin, pp. 130-142. 

The Census Bureau : Haskin, pp. 157-169. 



2i8 American Citizenship 

The Bureau of Standards : Haskin, pp. 170-182. 

National Health Work : Haskin, pp. 183-195. 

The Smithsonian Institute : Haskin, pp. 196-208. 

The Panama Canal : Haskin, pp. 209-220. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission : Haskin, pp. 221-234 ; 

Beard, American Government, pp. 379-400. 
Our Insular Possessions : Haskin, pp. 235-247. 
The Government Printing Office : Haskin, pp. 299-311. 
Conservation of National Resources : Beard, pp. 401-416. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE WORK OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

I. How the state touches the citizen. 
II. Citizenship and voting. 

III. Marriage and Divorce. 
1. Granting divorces. 

IV. Crimes and their penalties. 

1. The state government declares what acts are to be 

deemed criminal. 

2. The prevention of crime. 

3. Two ways of looking upon punishment. 

4. The right notion about punishment. 

5. New methods of treating criminals. 
V. Education. 

1. University extension work. 

2. The University is giving attention to the practical arts. 

3. Agriculture and engineering colleges. 

4. Training teachers. 
VI. Health. 

1. The prevention of disease. 
VII. The state government and poverty. 

1. The modern idea of preventing poverty, 

2. Some specific causes of poverty. 

3. The great war on poverty. 
VIII. Workmen's compensation. 

IX. Social insurance. 

X. Mothers' pensions. 

XI. Minimum wage laws. 

XII. Employment bureaus. 

XIII. The state government and trade unions. 

XIV. Trade unions and the law. 
XV. General labor legislation. 

1. The Wisconsin industrial commission. 

219 



220 American Citizenship 

XVI. The public control of business. 

1. State regulation of railways. 

2. The Wisconsin method of controlling railways. 

3. The theory on which trusts are forbidden by some states. 

4. State laws about corporations. 
XVII. Good roads. 

1 . How the state government may help in building roads. 

2. Why state aid is essential to proper road building. 
XVIII. The state's natural resources. 

XIX. How the state raises the revenues for its work. 

1. The general property tax. 

2. The difficulty of taxing personal property. 

3. The income tax. 

4. The inheritance tax. 

5. The tax on corporations. 



How the state touches the citizen. — Although people 
grow less excited over the election of a governor and a state 
legislature than over a presidential campaign, it is not be- 
cause the state government has less influence over their lives. 
Nearly all we do, from the cradle to the grave, brings us into 
touch with the government of the state. Whether we live 
in the country or in a city, whether we are in the kitchen cook- 
ing breakfast or are high on a building riveting steel frame- 
work, the government of the state by its good deeds or its 
neglect, affects our lives. If the food we are preparing is 
short of weight or adulterated, it is because the laws of the 
state are bad or are not enforced ; if we are seriously injured 
while at work, the state may let us suffer in poverty or may 
protect us by a workman's compensation law. If we are 
farmers, we may find that the freight rates on the milk and 
grain we send to a neighboring town are fixed by a state 
board ; if we are manufacturers, we may find the state telling 
us that we must have sanitary workshops, or even ordering 
us not to pay below a certain wage or not to employ children 
under sixteen years of age. Thus every one ought to have a 
deep interest in state affairs. 



The Work of the State Government 221 

The plan of this chapter. — To make clear how important 
the government of the state really is, we shall name many 
of the matters which are committed to its care; and then, 
in order to show how the work of state governments may be 
made more helpful to all of us, we shall describe some of the 
new experiments which are being tried out in some of the 
states. 

Citizenship and voting. — Although the United States 
government alone can make a citizen out of a foreigner, it is 
left to the state to decide on what terms natives and foreigners 
shall be allowed to take part in the government by voting. 
That is, the state, subject to the rules laid down in the federal 
Constitution (p. 69) determines who shall be permitted 
to vote. A few states have given the suffrage to aliens upon 
their declaring their intention to become citizens of the 
United States. A state may decide whether or not foreigners 
shall be permitted to hold land, but it cannot violate a treaty 
made by the United States with a foreign power giving to its 
subjects specific rights to travel, do business, and buy prop- 
erty anywhere in the Union. 

Marriage and divorce. — The state government may make 
it easy or difl&cult for couples to be married or to be separated 
by divorce. Some states allow almost any couple to form a 
lawful union that can find a clergyman to marry tEem ; other 
states make strict rules and require the issuance of a license 
in due form before marriage. Some states pay no attention 
as to whether the couples seeking to be married are diseased, 
feeble-minded, or criminal, while others prevent persons 
physically and mentally unfit from securing licenses to be 
married. Of course many people believe that any couple 
that wish to marry should be allowed to do so, and that 
the government (that is, the rest of us) has no interest 
in the affair. Since, however, the children born of parents 
physically or mentally diseased are extremely likely to be 
diseased or insane themselves and a charge upon the 



222 American Citizenship 

community to support, is marriage not a public matter? 
Why should the state government bother to stamp out dis- 
ease at a great cost, and to maintain public asylums for 
defectives and then take no interest in one of the chief 
causes of disease and delinquency; namely, the marriage 
of the unfit ? 

Granting divorces. — Many persons, particularly Catho- 
lics, regard marriage as a sacred matter, and do not believe 
that a husband and wife should be divorced for any cause 
whatsoever. None of our states, however, except South 
Carolina, takes this view of marriage ; but each one decides 
for itself for what causes couples may be separated. Some 
states make divorce very easy — allowing separation for 
such causes as drunkenness, bad temper, desertion for a 
certain length of time, failure to provide a decent living, and 
so on ; other states will allow persons to be divorced only 
where one or the other has committed a very grave offense. 
When divorce is allowed, the state may decide about the 
disposition oi the children and the property. The law may 
lean toward the father, and is likely to, because old custom 
gave the father possession of the children; but in some 
states the father and mother are given equal rights in the 
children, and each case is settled according to circumstances. 
When a wife is allowed a divorce from her husband, the latter 
may be compelled to make provision for her support — ali- 
mony it is called — and some courts are very severe in the 
charges which they lay upon divorced husbands. Divorces 
are granted by the courts, after a hearing, just as in other 
trials. 

Crimes and their penalties. — A crime is an unlawful deed. 
Life is made up of deeds which we do. Some deeds, we all 
agree, are wrong and should be forbidden under pain of pun- 
ishment ; other deeds, we all agree, are good. But between 
those acts which are clearly wrong and those which are clearly 
good there is a borderland of deeds which some people be- 



The Work of the State Government 223 

lieve to be good and others bad. We all agree, for instance, 
that willful bodily injury to another person is wrong and 
should be punished as a crime ; we are not all agreed, how- 
ever, that selling liquor after eleven o'clock at night is wrong 
and should be called a crime. What is regarded as a crime 
in one generation is not so considered by another generation. 
It was not deemed as a crime once upon a time to keep cows 
in a filthy stable and poison little children by sellmg dirty 
milk ; but all enhghtened states now make that a crime. 

The state government declares what acts are to he deemed 
criminal. — The very important task of deciding which of our 
acts shall be treated as innocent and which shall be regarded as 
wrong and criminal is left to the state. It is true, the federal 
government may punish persons for interfering with the 
mails and other national affairs, but it is the state that 
fixes nearly all of the crimes and punishments. Every year 
sees a long list of crimes added by the state legislatures to the 
already enormous total. The citizen by his vote and by 
his views of right and wrong therefore helps to settle these 

questions. . 

The prevention of crime. — The prevention of crime by 
fixing penalties and punishing offenders is a state affair, but 
the application of the penalties is left to the local courts. 
How is crime to be prevented? Of course we can all help 
to prevent it by our conduct and by the expression of our 
views in places where we have influence; but there must 
be an organized way of dealing with crime, and that is in- 
trusted to the government. The old view was that the govern- 
ment should prevent crime by watching out to see that 
none was committed and by punishing criminals severely 
enough to frighten other persons Hkely to commit similar 
offenses. The prevention of crime by watchuig is of course 
committed to the police in cities and to sheriffs and con- 
stables in the country ; and the way this service is performed 
depends very largely upon the way in which the local 



224 American Citizenship 

community — city, town, village, or county — regards the 
enforcement of the law. 

Two ways of looking upon punishment. — There are two 
ways that the state may view the use of punishment to pre- 
vent crime, for we no longer speak of punishment as mere 
revenge. Nobody should want to take revenge on a criminal 
unless it will benefit the latter or somebody else. The state 
may say that harsh and brutal penalties are more likely to 
frighten men than light and easy punishment, and certainly 
fear of punishment is the only thing that will deter some 
people from wrongdoing. Harsh penalties, however, may 
be so severe that jurors will not convict the guilty, because 
they think the penalty is too cruel, and thus criminals are 
positively encouraged. The second view of punishment is 
that the certainty of punishment for crime is the important 
thing, rather than heavy penalties. 

The right notion about punishment. — Our most progressive 
states are now looking to the reformation of the criminal as 
well as to his punishment. This does not mean that they are 
growing merely tender-hearted and sentimental, but that 
they are saying, '' We should so arrange our penalties as 
to help the prisoner to reform and become a decent citizen 
if there is any good in him." They are proceeding along 
certain lines, of which the following are the most significant: 

Classification of criminals. — The young should be separated from 
the old. This is done by having special reformatories for youths 
convicted of crimes. 

Indeterminate sentence. — Under this device the judge may say 
to the guilty man, "I will not send you to prison for a certain num- 
ber of years, but will commit you for a period of from one to ten 
years. If you conduct yourself properly in prison, you may go 
free at the end of one year, and then if you conduct yourself properly 
when you are let out, you may stay out. If, on the other hand, you 
break your word while you are out, you must go back to prison." 

Employment for prisoners. — It was an old-fashioned practice 
for states to hire their prisoners out on contract to manufacturers 



The Work of the State Government 225 

and builders at low wages. Thus prisoners were sometimes put 
into competition with workingmen who had committed no offenses, 
and actually took bread out of their mouths. Workingmen natu- 
rally protested against this, and it is clearly wrong. Nevertheless, 
prisoners should not be idle. Neither should they be forced to 
work for nothing and then be turned out into the world at the end 
of their terms without any money. Several states are now trying 
to find useful employment for prisoners, and some states allow 
them wages, which are turned over to support their families. The 
new idea is that the prisoner shall be prepared in prison for an 
occupation which, on his release, will enable him to be a self-sup- 
porting and self-respecting member of society. 

Education. — Although cities and towns have their own 
school boards, and counties their supervisors, the kind of 
education which is given in the city or country depends princi- 
pally upon state laws. The state may provide wretched 
elementary instruction a few weeks in the year, or it may 
establish a large and costly system beginning at the bottom 
and running up to the state normal school and university. 
The state may prescribe the amount of money which each 
community may spend, or it may raise the total amount 
itself by taxation and distribute it among the counties accord- 
ing to population. The state may prescribe that the same 
books shall be used in all of the public schools within its 
borders, or it may allow the local boards to decide within limits 
what studies shall be pursued and what books shall be used. 

University extension work. — The state universities in 
many Western commonwealths are extending their work 
until they reach out into every community and become a 
part of the local educational system. They do this by estab- 
lishing correspondence courses which students anywhere in 
the state may pursue, by sending out teachers to give lectures 
and instruction in local centers, and by forming traveling 
libraries which may be sent about from village to village 
according to demand. These universities are at the same 
time endeavoring to reach the citizens who are unable to 

Q 



226 American Citizenship 

come for regular terms, by establishing *' short courses " in 
the winter which may be taken by those who can spare only a 
few weeks, and by conducting summer schools, particularly 
for teachers engaged in the winter. 

The university is giving attention to the practical arts. — The 
modern ideal of the university is not only to cherish and 
spread among the people the wisest and best that has been 
thought out in science, literature, politics, and morals, but 
also to develop those practical arts and sciences which will 
help the people to do their daily tasks more easily and more 
intelligently. For example, the University of Wisconsin will 
send a lecturer to a community to talk about American poets 
or what a village may do to improve its appearance, or it will 
point out to a farmer what careful experiments have proved 
to be the best way to blast and pull stumps. 

Agricultural and engineering colleges. — Agricultural and 
engineering colleges are established either in connection with 
state universities or separately, and they are not content with 
giving regular classes at the places where they are located. 
They also give special short courses to help those who can 
spare only a few weeks. They organize the farmers of the 
counties into '^ institutes," at which experts discuss the best 
ways of doing farm work and improving the amount and 
quality of the produce. Some of them even run corn, wheat, 
or dairy trains throughout the state, giving exhibits of what 
intelligent selection of grain and stock can do to increase the 
wealth of the country. They give extension instruction at 
factories and workshops, in modern science and in expert ways 
of drafting, using fuel, applying electricity, and so on. They 
cooperate with local schools in giving courses of study which 
will help men and women to do the work which falls to them 
with the most ease and skill — to prepare them for a life of 
power instead of messy ignorance. 

Training teachers. — While providing education for farmers, 
professional men and women, and artisans, the states also 



The Work of the State Government 227 

attempt to improve education generally by maintaining 
normal schools for the training of teachers. Some states 
have established one separate and central school for teachers ; 
other states prefer to bring this professional training nearer 
to the teachers by founding schools in two or more places ; 
and still other states, with great wisdom, solve the problem 
by creating a teachers' college in connection with the uni- 
versity. 

Health. — The health work of the state government is 
two fold, — curing and preventing. The state maintains 
asylums for the insane, the deaf, dumb, blind, and other 
defectives, and within recent years several states have estab- 
lished sanatoriums for tubercular patients. Wisconsin, for 
example, not only has such a sanatorium, but endeavors to 
secure a chain of them throughout the commonwealth by 
granting state aid to the counties for this purpose. 

The prevention of disease. — The great increase in the num- 
ber of insane and diseased has driven our states into giving 
more care to the prevention of ills. This is now attempted 
(a) by enacting laws which forbid the sale of unwholesome 
foodstuffs, and (h) by providing for officers to inspect 
places where people live and work with a view to destroying 
insanitary arrangements. In progressive states, the sale of 
adulterated foods and drugs is forbidden, the defiling of 
streams from which water supplies are taken is prohibited, the 
providing of a certain amount of air and light in factories and 
tenements is required, and exhausting work by women and 
children in factories is more and more proscribed. The 
determination of what foods and drugs are adulterated with 
harmful materials is a difficult task which falls in part upon 
the state and local health officers, and, as we have seen above, 
in part upon federal officers (pp. 181, 203). If the officers 
are too strict, they may interfere with lawful manufacturing, 
and if they are too liberal in their decisions, they may help 
to poison their fellow-citizens. Health work, therefore, 



228 American Citizenship 

requires a very high degree of scientific skill and a more than 
ordinary amount of good judgment and honesty. 

The state government and poverty. — Nowhere in the 
world, perhaps, is the spirit of charity more strongly manifest 
than in the humane institutions maintained by the govern- 
ments of our states. The county poor farms and asylums 
are supplemented by state institutions for dependent soldiers, 
orphans, the deaf, dumb, blind, insane, and other persons 
unable to take care of themselves. Beautiful buildings are 
erected, millions of dollars voted, and skilled men and women 
employed in order to relieve suffering and to help the needy. 
It is true, there are sometimes scandals connected with our 
asylums, and superintendents are frequently found to be 
guilty of neglect and brutality; but the amount of high- 
minded and generous service to the poor and unfortunate 
which is given in many of our states is a tribute to our 
kindly intentions if not to our wisdom. 

The modern idea of " preventing " poverty. — However, as 
in health work, so in charity, the prevention of poverty is 
better than providing generously for the wrecks of poverty. 
We are just beginning to understand the fact that poverty 
is a sort of disease which we can materially reduce, if not 
eradicate altogether. A great deal of poverty is due to the 
fact that many persons and corporations are getting, by one 
method or another, more than their share of the wealth 
which is produced every year ; for example, by charging unfair 
railway rates, grabbing waterfalls to sell the power, seizing 
public lands at a low price, or by paying low wages simply 
because the poor must sell their labor or starve. How to 
prevent any one from getting possession of property without 
making any return at all to society is the biggest problem 
before modern statesmen, and it is one to which we shall have 
to give more attention as we seek to prevent pauperism and 
disease. 

Some specific causes of poverty. — There are many different 




< 
o 

w 



The Work of the State Government 229 

causes for specific cases of poverty. We may enumerate a 
few. Thousands of people in the United States are un- 
employed more or less of the time through no fault of their 
own : on account of seasonal trades, failures and bankruptcies, 
and financial crises. Again, a good workman may fall sick, 
and in a few weeks his savings are gone and he finds himself 
in poverty; or he may be injured at his trade or even 
killed at it. Many families are poor because the fathers 
have deserted them, either through despair of keeping the 
wolf from the door or on account of shiftlessness. Other 
families are poor because the father has been injured or 
killed at work. But of course the chief cause of poverty 
is due to the fact that millions receive wages which are barely 
enough to keep families going in good times, and not enough 
to meet extraordinary cares and hardships such as fall upon 
most of us at some time. 

The great war on 'poverty. — All over the world^war is being 
declared on undeserved poverty, and recently the Chancellor 
of the Exchequer in England expressed the hope " that great 
advance will be made in this generation toward the time 
when poverty, with its wretchedness and squalor, will be as 
remote from the people of this country as the wolves which 
once infested the forests.'^ What may be done in the future 
belongs to prophecy, but we shall mention here some of the 
newer laws that are being enacted by our state legislatures, 
with a view to reducing the amount of poverty. As you grow 
older, it will be your duty to study carefully the campaigns in 
this new war on an old enemy of the human race — poverty. 

Workmen's compensation. — Our enlightened states are 
fighting the poverty which comes through the injury or 
death of workmen at their trades, by workmen's compensa- 
tion laws, which provide that an employer must pay a certain 
amount to any employee injured at work — an amount 
graded according to the injury, and in case of his death to be 
paid to the family. To make it easier for employers to meet 



230 American Citizenship 

heavy charges, arrangements are sometimes made whereby 
they may insure their employees against accidents just as they 
do their property against fire and flood. Provision may be 
made for the payment of a lump sum to the injured person, or 
the payment of a weekly amount during a certain period. 
England and Germany have gone so far as to insure against 
disease as well as injuries. By such methods a great deal of 
undeserved poverty is prevented, and many a workman who 
would have been thrown upon society as a pauper on losing 
an arm or a leg is given an amount which will help him keep 
up some standard of life even though he cannot make full 
wages any longer ; and many a family which would have been 
plunged into poverty on the death of the father in industry 
is thus made more independent and self-respecting. 

Social insurance. — Although none of our states has yet 
made provision for compelling all persons to insure them- 
selves against sickness or old age, Wisconsin has made a 
beginning by a law passed in 1911. A state board of insur- 
ance trustees is created, and persons of small incomes are 
encouraged to insure themselves against adversity and 
poverty in their old age. By paying a small sum periodically, 
any person may arrange to have an income of one, two, or 
three hundred dollars a year on reaching the age of sixty. 
Life insurance policies up to $3000 are also issued. No 
expensive ofiices or solicitors are maintained, and the idea 
back of the scheme is to furnish insurance on a safe basis at 
exact cost. It is difficult, however, for underpaid wage 
earners to contribute even a mite to such a scheme. 

Mothers' pensions. — A great deal of poverty, moreover, 
is due to the fact that widowed or deserted and needy mothers 
with children are unable to take care of their offspring prop- 
erly and at the same time earn a livelihood for them. This 
fact has led more than one-fourth of our states to pass 
" mothers' pension acts," providing for the payment of 
certain sums weekly to mothers in such condition — a sum 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee. 

A Victim of an Industrial Accident 




Courtesy of National Child Labor Committee. 

Night Work in a Glass Factory 



The Work of the State Government 231 

graded according to the number and age of the children. 
This is not looked upon as a charity, but as a reward for 
honorable service in rearing children ; for we are coming to 
look upon the rearing and proper care of children as a no 
less noble ser^dce than the destruction of Ufe on the battle 
field. TVe are to have, as has been well said, '• soldiers of the 
cradle and the plowshare, no less than of the sword and 
bayonet." 

Minimum v:age lav:s. — The discoven,' that a verj^ large 
share of the working people, particularly v,'omen and girls, 
do not receive wages sufficiently large to maintain them in 
comfort and decency has moved our state legislatures to 
search for some remedy, and a few of them have enacted 
" minimum wage " laws as a result. A minimum wage law 
may be of two kinds. It may (a) pro^dde for a board or 
commission with the power to declare what is a fair minimum 
wage in a given industr\^, but with no power to compel em- 
ployers to pay it ; or (b) the law may either fix a minimum 
wage in certain industries or authorize a board to fix and 
enforce it. The minimum wage is at present in an experi- 
mental stage ; but it is a sign that there is a growing deter- 
mination on the part of the American public to set certain 
standards in low paid trades Tsith a view to reducing the 
appalling poverty which afflicts those engaged in them. 

Employment hureau^s. — A part of the prevailing unemploy- 
ment is due to the fact that employers sometimes do not 
know where to get workers and workers do not know where 
to look for jobs. Wisconsin tries to bring the man and the 
job together by estabhshing a chain of state employment 
bureaas in the leading cities at which men and women seek- 
ing work are regi.stered free of charge and put into touch 
w^th those in search of workers. Such a system has to 
be managed with great care to see that employers do not 
use it to get cheap labor and discharge their more highly 
paid workers. It is clearly inadvisable for the state to act 



232 American Citizenship 

as a " strike-breaker " by furnishing laborers to take the 
places of those striking for better wages or shorter hours. 
In spite of the difficulties connected with managing such a 
bureau properly, the Wisconsin system seems to have helped 
thousands of working men and women out of employment 
to get a new foothold. 

The state government and trade unions. — While the 
state government may thus help to cut down the amount of 
undeserved poverty by positive laws, it may also indirectly 
influence wages by the attitude which it takes toward trade 
unions. A trade union is a combination of working people 
in a given trade. The theory on which it is based is as fol- 
lows : Working men and women with no property must sell 
their labor in order to live. If as individuals they bid against 
each other for jobs, the employer is able to beat wages down 
to the lowest offers. If, on the other hand, they unite, they 
have more strength in dealing with employers and can 
secure better wages and hours for all. 

Trade unions and the law. — A big question for the gov- 
ernment to decide is : " What methods may trade unions use 
to force employers to pay better wages or allow shorter 
hours?" May they "picket" factories where strikes are 
being held; that is, patrol the region and persuade other 
persons from taking their jobs? May they "boycott"; 
that is, refuse to buy the goods made by non-union manu- 
facturers? May they hold meetings and make speeches 
near the factories and bring everything short of physical 
force to bear, to win the strike? When and under what 
circumstances should the troops be called out to interfere, 
and how shall they be employed when called out? Clearly 
these are difficult questions which cannot be answered off- 
hand. It is important, however, that this whole matter 
should be carefully examined and that public officers 
should be cautious in putting the military power above the 
civil authorities in times of disorder connected with strikes. 



The Work of the State Government 233 

General labor legislation. — The state tries to do by legis- 
lative enactment many things which trade unions seek to do 
by agreement among themselves. It is in behalf of per- 
sons not organized into unions that the state government 
interferes most. It may fix the number of hours which 
children, over a certain age, and women may work in a day 
or week. It may require owners of factories to put safe- 
guards about dangerous machinery, and to provide a cer- 
tain minimum of light and air for their employees. It may 
forbid altogether the employment of children below a cer- 
tain age and allow older children to work only in industries 
not injurious to their health or morals. Even in the case 
of adult men, the state may fix the hours in some employ- 
ments which are especially dangerous ; as, for example, 
mining and railroading. These laws have now grown to be 
so numerous and detailed that it requires an expert to under- 
stand them, and they are enforced by commissions in charge 
of an army of inspectors who travel from town to town visit- 
ing the establishments which come within the range of the 
laws. For this work it is necessary always to have a suffi- 
ciently numerous corps of officials. Occasionally a state 
provides a larger force of officials to enforce fish and game 
laws than to enforce laws passed in the interests of factory 
workers. 

The Wisconsin industrial commission. — The very grave 
difficulty of making laws long and full enough to cover all 
the multitude of problems raised in the various industries 
induced Wisconsin to create an industrial commission and 
give it the power to issue orders for this factory or that 
according to the necessities of each case. This commission 
may make rules for '^ the protection of the life, health, safety, 
and welfare of employees in employments and places of em- 
ployment or frequenters of places of employment." Surely, 
this is a large power to give to a body of three men, but if it 
is used wisely, it may greatly increase the comfort and well- 



234 American Citizenship 

being of thousands of people. It is hardly necessary to re- 
mark that this law is not based on the old doctrine that any 
one has a right to work where and when he pleases, for 
whatever wages he may choose to accept, and in any kind 
of factory he likes, regardless of the effect of his conduct on 
his own health and well-being and that of his family and his 
neighbors. 

The public control of business. — In the eye of the law 
there are two kinds of business : that which is purely private 
in character and that in which the public has an interest. 
From time immemorial it has been held that '' common 
carriers," that is, persons engaged in carrying and handling 
freight and passengers, are conducting a business which is 
of a public character. Such a business, the lawyers have 
said, it is proper for the government to regulate — that is, 
to fix rates and charges and conditions of service. The 
theory is that, if any person does not like his shoes, he can 
go to another shoemaker, whereas if he does not like the 
rates charged by a railway, he must pay them anyhow be- 
cause he has no other way to send his goods. Therefore, 
it is proper for the state government, runs the theory, to see 
that the rates of common carriers are reasonable. 

State regulation of railways. — Of course this is just a 
theory, but it is important in the law and on the basis of it 
our states control freight and passenger rates. They do 
this in several ways. A state may fix a '' flat rate " ; that 
is, declare that a railroad shall not charge more than two or 
three cents a mile for passengers; or it may provide that 
railways having a certain mileage shall charge one rate and 
other railways having a different mileage another rate. 
Again, the state may create a board or commission similar 
to the federal Interstate Commerce Commission (p. 180), 
and give it the power to fix all rates and charges of 
common carriers. More than two-thirds of our states have 
railway commissions, but all of these boards do not have 



The Work of the State Government 235 

equal power by any means. A few states have provided for 
the '' physical valuation " of the railways within their borders ; 
that is, they have ascertained the cost of constructing and 
running the roads with a view to discovering what is a fair 
charge to make for carrying freight and passengers. 

The Wisconsin method of controlling railways. — In order 
to show the student just how the state attempts to prevent 
railways and common carriers from charging rates which 
are too high or from refusing to stop trains at certain stations, 
furnish freight cars or switches, or do other things for the 
convenience of the public, we print here a section from the 
Wisconsin law controlling railways : 

Upon complaint of any person, firm, corporation, or association, 
or of any mercantile, agricultural, or manufacturing society, or of 
any body politic or municipal organization, that any of the rates, 
fares, charges, or classifications, or any joint rate or rates are in 
any respect unreasonable or unjustly discriminator^^ or that any 
regulation or practice whatsoever affecting the transportation of 
persons or property, or any service in connection therewith, are 
in any respect unreasonable or unjustly discriminatory, or that 
any service is inadequate, the commission [state board of three 
men appointed by the governor] may notify the railroad com- 
plained of that the complaint has been made, and ten days after 
such notice has been given, the commission may proceed to in- 
vestigate the same as hereinafter provided. ... If upon such in- 
vestigation the rate or rates, fares, charges or classifications, or 
any joint rate or rates, or any regulation, practice, or service com- 
plained of, shall be found to be unreasonable or unjustly discrimina- 
tory, or the service shall be found to be inadequate, the commission 
shall have power to fix and order substituted therefor, such rate 
or rates, fares, charges or classification as it shall have determined 
to be just and reasonable, and which shall be charged, imposed, and 
followed in the future. 

The theory on which trusts are forbidden hy some states, — 
It is difficult for a person who is not a lawyer to see why a 
railway is a matter in which the public has an interest, and 
the shoe business, which may be controlled by a single trust 



236 American Citizenship 

(p. 188) or by very few nianufacturers, is not. But the 
distinction is made in the law, and when a state gov- 
ernment interferes with other than railways and " public 
service corporations," it does so on another theory ; namely, 
" that all combinations in restraint of trade are illegal. '^ It 
is an ancient doctrine of the law that when two or more 
persons in any line of business join in a scheme to injure a 
third they have committed an unlawful act. On the theory 
that " combinations in restraint of trade '' are unlawful, the 
courts may punish persons who join in an organization to 
drive out competitors or to monopolize all of the business in 
a certain line ; and, to make sure that the courts will act on 
this theory, many state legislatures have expressly pro- 
hibited such combinations. Any concern which is engaged 
in business solely within the borders of a state is entirely 
subject to the laws of that state, but when it enters into a 
general business in other states it becomes subject to the 
laws passed by Congress under its power to regulate inter- 
state commerce (p. 180). 

State laws about corporations. — Many kinds of laws are 
enacted by our states for the purpose of preventing the 
union of competing concerns into large corporations and 
trusts. Of course, it is impossible to form a corporation 
without the consent of the state government which issues 
the charter to the persons joining in the corporation, and 
so the state may lay dowTi the terms on which such con- 
cerns may do business. Some states forbid the directors of 
one corporation to be directors in other corporations, — 
that is, prohibit what is known as '' the interlocking directo- 
rate," — a system by which a few men may readily get control 
of a large number of different concerns. Other states compel 
companies to sell their products in all parts of the state at 
the same price, with the cost of freight added, so that they 
cannot undersell competitors in one section and charge a 
high price in another to make up the difference. In spite of 



The Work of the State Government 237 

all of these schemes, the tendency to consolidate competing 
businesses goes on steadily. 

Good roads. — Until very recently, the building and re- 
pair of roads were regarded largely as local matters, and left 
to the care of the townships, counties, and other subdivisions. 
The result was that the condition of the roads depended 
upon the enterprise and intelligence of the community, and 
no uniform and scientific plans were possible. But a few 
years ago a new movement set in for '' good roads." The 
United States government, by establishing rural free de- 
livery only where reasonably good roads were maintained, 
encouraged localities to make extensive improvements. 
The development of the automobile, not merely for pleasure, 
but also for business and transportation generally, led town 
and city people to give more attention to the way the rural 
communities kept up their roads. The telephone, rural 
delivery, and automobile awakened the farmer to the value 
of quick communication with the neighboring cities. Good 
roads, moreover, increase the value of lands immensely : 
a person dwelling ten miles from a city on a macadam road 
may in fact be nearer than another person living only five 
miles away on an unimproved road. Good roads encourage 
the sons and daughters of farmers to remain in the country 
because they make it possible to break the monotony of 
isolated farm life by trips to town. 

How state government may help in building roads. — It is 
for these reasons that our states are going into the road 
making business on a large scale, either by undertaking the 
work themselves or by lending aid to the counties and local 
communities. New York, for example, is building great 
trunk lines in all directions and maintaining them out of 
state funds. In addition to building state roads, about 
three-fourths of the states have adopted a policy of lending 
financial aid to localities ; that is, of paying part of the cost 
of certain roads if the locality will pay the balance. Illinois 



238 American Citizenship 

operates a great rock-crushing plant by convict labor and 
furnishes stone free of charge to counties which will pay the 
freight. Other states furnish expert engineers and surveyors 
to communities ready to improve their highways. 

Why state aid is essential to proper road building. — The 
entrance of the state into the road business has resulted 
in wonderful improvements. Road making is a science, and 
it cannot be mastered by an elected road supervisor of a few 
weeks' experience. The state government employs highly 
skilled men who devote their lives to highway engineering. 
State roads, therefore, are likely to be constructed with 
more care at the outset and maintained with more regularity 
and skill when once built. By the system of state aid to 
localities, the communities are encouraged to become enter- 
prising, and at the same time the best scientific training may 
be enlisted in the work of constructing and repairing high- 
ways. 

The state's natural resources. — A great many of our 
states possess valuable forest lands and waterfalls from 
which power may be developed. Up until recent years it 
was believed by most of those who thought about the matter 
at all that the state should sell or give away to private per- 
sons all of its timber lands and waterfalls; but this view 
of the matter is now growing obsolete. The state would 
not think of letting any private person drive up to the 
treasury and take away a wagonload of its money. Why 
then should it permit any person to enter its treasury of 
natural resources and help himself to power and timber 
without making proper return? Gradually the states are 
standing against the old policy of selling or giving away 
power and timber, and favoring the retention and develop- 
ment of these rich treasures for the public good. A state 
may lease the use of these resources to private persons in 
return for the payment of a stipulated rental, or it may 
develop them itself by having state officers handle the timber 



The Work of the State Government 239 

and sell the annual output and by building state power- 
houses and selling the power. Whatever poHcy is adopted, 
the point is to prevent any private person from getting any- 
thing from the public without giving its value in return. 

How the state raises its revenues. — All these useful 
services by the state cost money, and it must be raised by 
taxing the citizens ; but there are many ways of doing this. 
In older and simpler days, when there were few great rail- 
way and other companies and corporations, it was the 
common practice to lay a tax upon every citizen within the 
state according to the amount of his property, lands, houses, 
money, jewels, and livestock. 

The general property tax. — This was based upon the theory 
that everybody ought to contribute to the support of the 
state government just in proportion to the value of all his 
property. A man who had ten thousand dollars* worth of 
land should pay just as much as the man who had a store 
worth the same amount, or money loaned out at interest. 

The difficulty of taxing " personal '' property. — The tax 
looked fair enough and is in fact fair enough for a rural com- 
munity, but time has wrought changes in populous states. 
A great deal of the wealth now is in stocks and bonds — 
money invested in railways, manufacturing, mining, and 
other concerns, and it is difficult to find out how much any 
person is worth if he will not tell the assessor. He can lock 
his bonds up in a strong box and no one can discover how 
much he has. It is in this way that a great deal of 
personal property escapes taxation altogether. This fact, 
plus the fact that the expenses of states have grown enor- 
mously, has led many states to look for new sources of 
revenue, in place of relying solely on the general property tax. 

The income tax. — Among these new sources is the income 
tax. This tax rests upon the theory that a person's income 
is the best test of his ability to pay. A farmer may have a 
farm worth $5000 from which, by hard labor, he wins $1000 



240 American Citizenship 

gross income and yet he may have to pay a tax of $75 or 
$100 a year, while a lawyer who owns no property what- 
ever may enjoy an income of $3000 a year and pay no tax 
at all. Of course it is difficult to know the amount of a 
person's income if he will not honestly tell what it is, but about 
one-third of our states have an income tax. Wisconsin has 
one of the most interesting income tax laws. It says : " If 
you are unmarried and have an income over $800, you must 
pay a small income tax ; if you are married, you and your 
wife need not pay unless you have over $1200 a year; if 
you have children under eighteen years of age, we will 
exempt you from paying tax on $200 for each child." In- 
come taxes are usually graduated ; that is, the rate which 
one pays increases with the amount of the income. In 
Wisconsin one pays only 1 per cent on the first $1000 over 
and above the amount exempt, and 6 per cent on a taxable 
income over $12,000. 

The inheritance tax. — A second new source of income is 
the inheritance tax, which is imposed upon the property which 
a person leaves to his heirs at his death. This tax is easier 
to collect than the income tax, because, upon the death of 
the owner, the estate must be settled in order that it may be 
divided among the heirs, and it is thus possible for the state 
ofiicers to discover the exact amount which is left to the 
heirs. A much larger proportion of our states have the in- 
heritance tax than the income tax. 

The tax on corporations. — A third new tax is the corpora- 
tion tax, or tax laid upon companies doing business within 
the state. This tax is to be found in many forms. It may 
be a tax laid upon the capital stock of the concern or upon 
the net earnings or upon the gross earnings. This is one of 
the most popular of the new taxes, because it is a kind of 
indirect tax which does not come immediately out of any- 
body's pocket. The people of the state which lays such a 
tax often forget that [any money collected from a company 



The Work of the State Government 241 

doing business in the state must come out of the pockets of 
the working people employed by it or out of the pockets of the 
consumers who buy the products or travel or send freight 
and express. A corporation tax is an easy way of taxing 
ourselves indirectly. 

Questions 

1. Name some ways in which the state government comes very 
close to the people. 

2. On what subjects is there considerable diversity among the 
states ? 

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of uniform 
legislation ? 

4. What is meant by crime ? What are the most recent ideas 
about treating criminals ? 

5. What is the advantage of state control of education ? 

6. Describe the health work of a progressive state. 

7. What is the attitude of enlightened states toward the very 
poor? 

8. What are some of the chief causes of poverty, and which of 
these are connected with politics ? 

fe 9. What relation does the government of the state bear to 
wages ? 

10. What is the trend of state labor legislation ? 

11. How do state governments affect business? 

12. What property may a state own and how may it be used ? 

Additional Reading 

The Regulation of Railways : Reinsch, Readings on American 
State Government, pp. 240-262; Beard, American Government, 
pp. 724-732. 

Conservation of State Resources : Reinsch, pp. 262-292. 

Prohibition of Liquor Selling : Reinsch, pp. 342-363. 

The Courts and Criminal Law Reform : Reinsch, pp. 181-199. 

Insurance against Poverty : Seager, A Social Program. 

State Taxation and Finance : Beard, pp. 706-720. 

Labor Legislation : Seager, A Social Program ; Beard, pp. 
732-742. 

A Study of a Progressive State : Charles McCarthy, The Wis- 
consin Idea. 



CHAPTER XVI 

HOW THE CITY GOVERNMENT SERVES THE 

COMMUNITY 

I. What is the city ? 

1. The city as it appears to the stranger. 

2. The residents' view of the city. 

3. A narrow view of city government. 

4. City government and the well-being of the people. 

5. What the citizen should care about in the matter of city 

government. 
II. The survey of the city. 

1. What should be in such a survey ? 

2. The value of such surveys. 

3. The most important thing in city government. 

III. Policing the city. 

1. The police force. 

2. Policewomen. 

3. The question of proper treatment for criminals. 

4. New plans to help criminals reform themselves. 

IV. The fire department. 
1. Fire prevention. 

V. The city streets. 

1. The planning and care of streets. 

2. Traffic in the streets. 

3. The anti-noise crusade. 
VI. Public utilities. 

1. The franchises granted to public utility corporations. 

2. Forms of franchises. 

3. Regulation of utilities. 

4. Municipal ownership of city utilities. 
VII. Guarding the health of the citizens. 

1. Pure air indoors. 

2. Pure air out-of-doors. 

3. Breathing spaces in the crowded city. 

242 



How the City Government Serves the Community 243 

4. Pure food. 

5. Control of milk supply. 

6. Municipal markets. 

7. Municipal ice plants. 

8. Attacking disease directly. 

9. An outline of health work. 
VIII. Housing. 

IX. Play and rest for city people. 

1. What the city can do to help provide recreation. 
X. Education. 

1. Newer features of our schools. 

2. Cooperation of the schools in government work. 

3. The extension of education in cities. 
XI. City planning. 

XII. Raising the money with which to pay the bills. 

1. The single tax on the values of land. 

2. Making the budget. 

XIII. Poverty in the city. 

1. The Kansas City Board of Public Welfare. 

XIV. The new city program. 



What is the city? — If all students were asked to close 
their eyes and tell what picture is called to their minds by 
the word " city," no two pictures would be alike. Children 
might have similar ideas about the words ^' state " or " na- 
tion " or "■ country " ; but for each of us the word city calls 
up a different vision, the nature of which depends upon 
where we live, how we live, where we walk or ride or play, 
where we go to school, or what kind of work we do. 

The city as it appears to the stranger. — The impression 
which the city makes upon the outsider who visits it depends 
upon what he seeks within its gates. The country resident 
on occasional visits may carry away, above everything else, 
notions of the gayety of the city, as a result of seeing the 
bright shops, the amusements, and the throngs of people 
along the brilliantly lighted streets. The stranger in search 
of work will have quite another impression, particularly if 
his search is long and fruitless. He will think the city is a 



244 American Citizenship 

place of high prices, high rents, gloomy warehouses and 
factories where gruff foremen repel those seeking work, and 
dark, overcrowded tenements. Signs in the parks tell him 
to keep off the grass, and the policeman is likely to arrest 
him as a vagrant if he rests too long on a park bench. To 
such an one, the city is a cheerless place, and the only evi- 
dences of hospitality are at the municipal lodging house, 
where he may stay for a few cents a day for a brief time. 

The residents^ view of the city. — As we have said, the city 
does not mean the same thing even to all its residents ; their 
impressions likewise depend upon the section in which they 
live, the income or wages they receive, and the work they do. 
To the poor child, the city means the street in which he plays, 
with a big policeman strolling up and down watching for mis- 
chief makers ; the school which he attends ; and his neighbor- 
hood with the excitement when the fire engines are called out 
or there has been a fight or some one has been run over by a 
truck or automobile. To the child of wealthy parents, the 
city is a place of beautiful parks, elegant carriages and care- 
fully groomed horses, well-dressed ladies, children's parties, 
and beautiful homes. And as for the government of the 
city, perhaps neither the poor nor the rich child has thought 
about connecting the things that he sees with the mayor or 
the council or the health officer or the crowds around the 
polls on election days. 

A narrow view of city government. — To the average person 
the phrase, the government of the city, calls up a vision of 
the city hall, an engine house, a hospital, the courthouse 
and jail, a park, a school building, a policeman, and perhaps 
a garbage collector. He does not think that there is much 
connection between the city government and the dark alleys 
and dingy tenements, the narrow and dirty streets, the 
number of funerals of little babies and grown-up persons, 
the hungry children in the schools, or the places of amuse- 
ment. 



How the City Government Serves the Community 245 

Nevertheless, there is a very deep and real relation 
between the beauty, health, and happiness of the residents 
and the government of the city. 

City government and the well-being of the people. -— It is 
one of the purposes of the study of civics to show this con- 
nection between the comfort and happiness of the city and 
its government. If a city has beautiful parks, fine school 
buildings, clean streets, no dirty back alleys, homes well 
constructed and lighted, a small number of deaths each year, 
decent and orderly places for the people to visit for entertain- 
ment, courteous and industrious policemen, it is because the 
voters and the city officers have worked together to reach this 
result. If a city has splendid public buildings and filthy, 
overcrowded back streets, fine drives for carriages and 
automobiles and gloomy tenements for the poor to live in, 
statues of poets and great men in the show places, and grim 
death busily at work all the time in the back places, it is be- 
cause the voters are indifferent, and those who ought to 
know better have very narrow ideas of what a city is and 
ought to be. 

What the citizen should care about in the matter of city govern- 
ment — It is because a great deal of our comfort and well- 
being depends upon the government of the city that our 
study of the subjects of civics must go beyond a bare descrip- 
tion of the elections, terms, salaries, and duties of mimicipal 
officers. It is far more important to know the things which 
have been done to reduce the death rate in the most enlight- 
ened cities than it is to know whether the mayor's term is 
two years or four. It is far better to know what can be done 
to guarantee pure milk for babies than it is to know who 
succeeds the mayor in case he should die or lose his mind. 
When the citizen has an interest in making his city a cleaner, 
more beautiful, and more healthful place for everybody to 
live in; when he begins to inquire what has been done by 
progressive cities along such lines, he will soon find out when 



246 American Citizenship 

and how elections are held at which officers are chosen to do 
the work of city government. In fact mere descriptions 
of the machinery of the city government are of Uttle use 
in teaching citizens their duties. 

The survey of the city. — No one can help wisely and 
effectively, unless he has a rather accurate notion of what 
needs to be done. For this reason, people are coming to 
see the need of what is called a '^survey" or a study of 
the actual facts about the life and work of all the residents. 
We now have several such surveys made by expert commit- 
tees who have studied in detail the way the people of given 
cities are housed, policed, and taxed, how their health is 
safeguarded and their children are taught, what incomes they 
have per family, where and how they seek amusements, 
and what attitude the city officers take toward such matters. 
It has been said that one-half of the world does not know 
how the other half lives ; but it is sheer stupidity or willful 
ignorance to continue this state of affairs when it is possible 
to have an accurate census of how all live and when it is at 
the same time desirable because we all share the responsi- 
bility for the present state of affairs. 

What should he in a survey of a city. — A survey of a city 
for the purpose of understanding the work which the govern- 
ment ought to do should reveal the following facts : 

The number of families that have not more than the minimum 
income necessary for a bare living and that have and can have no 
savings. 

The number of families that own their own homes and the num- 
ber that rent their homes. 

The sickness and death rate by blocks and districts, taking into 
consideration also the diseases and deaths caused by the industries 
in which the workers are employed. 

The kinds and causes of diseases in the city. 

The sources of the food supply, and costs of transportation and 
marketing. 

The condition of the homes of the people as to light, air, clean- 
liness, and comfort. 




A Chicago Court for Delinquent Girls 



How the City Government Serves the Community 247 

The number and location of the saloons, dance halls, and places of 
amusement. 

The amount of property the city now owns, its debt, the sources 
of income, and present apportionment of income for municipal work. 

The amount of overcrowding in homes and the congestion of 
traffic in the streets, the street cars, and other means of transporta- 
tion. 

The amount and kinds of crime and sections of the city where it 
occurs. 

The number of children arrested each year and the offenses 
charged against them. 

The number of deaths per month or year caused by reckless 
driving or lack of traffic regulations. 

The value of such surveys. — It is from such surveys that 
we have learned the necessity of including in the study 
of civics other things besides the terms and elections of city 
officers. When we discover that a very large proportion of 
the residents of the great industrial cities (more than 90 per 
cent in New York City) do not own homes, that a large 
proportion do not have sufficient wages to cover the bare 
necessities of life, that we are killing men, women, and children 
by the thousands through neglecting public health work — 
when we discover such facts as these we know that an elec- 
tion means more than merely trying to find out whether the 
candidate of one or the other party goes to our church or 
voted our ticket ten years ago. 

The most important thing in city government. — From 
this point of view it is difficult to decide which topic 
of city government should be taken up first. When the 
newer ideas about the subject began to creep into textbooks, 
it was customary to start with the old topics, such as police 
control, parks, and fire protection, and to put in a few 
sentences about health and housing at the end. But on 
second thought we can see that it is more important that the 
homes of the people of a great city should be fight, airy, and 
clean than that the boulevards should be paved or a bust of 



248 American Citizenship 

a poet placed in the park. Again, the number of people 
who might be assaulted if there were no police in the city 
is probably small as compared with the number annually 
killed by diseases which could be prevented. It is, therefore, 
not our view of the importance of things, but respect for 
tradition that leads us to begin with the older business of 
city government and take up the newer things later. 

Policing the city. — One of the duties of a municipal 
government is to keep order within its gates. This seems 
like a simple matter, but it isn't. If all the police had to do 
was to catch and punish thieves, robbers, murderers, and 
other grave offenders, their work would not be so difficult ; 
but we ask our police to look after our morals as well. Some 
of us think that saloons should be shut on Sunday, and we have 
this belief enacted into law. Then we charge the police with 
the duty of enforcing it and go about our own business. 
But thousands of people, including the saloon-keepers and 
perhaps many of the policemen, do not think that it is im- 
moral to have saloons open on Sunday, and the saloon 
keepers are willing to pay somebody handsomely if they can 
open their back doors in spite of the law. This is where the 
trouble comes in with the police — " graft," as we call it. 
Those who cater to all kinds of profitable vices — drinking, 
gambling, and the like — are willing to pay the police or the 
politicians who control the police department, if they will 
just shut their eyes. It takes extraordinary watchfulness 
on the part of citizens trying to suppress vice to prevent 
corruption in the police force. In fact, repeated failures to 
suppress vice have led many wise persons to think of attack- 
ing the problem by getting at some of the chief causes of 
vice — overcrowding, low wages, inadequate recreation, poor 
education, and feeble-mindedness. 

The police force. — Much depends, however, upon the official 
police system. The modern police force in the more ad- 
vanced cities is organized somewhat on the following lines. 



How the City Government Serves the Community 249 

The head of the department is appointed by the mayor or 
elected by the commission (if the city has commission govern- 
ment) and is made responsible for the conduct of the entire 
force. The members of the force are chosen by the '' merit " 
system (see p. 133) ; that is, on the basis of a competi- 
tive examination, and they hold their positions for life, 
or during good behavior. The officers in the force are 
selected by promotion from the ranks on the basis of meri- 
torious services. Pensions are sometimes paid to the men 
who have served a long term of years on the force. By the 
merit system an attempt is made to keep the police out of 
politics ; they do not get their places or hold them at the 
pleasure of any political party; the city government may 
change at every election, but the police force, like soldiers, 
continues from year to year, obeying orders from the head of 
the department. Of course, it does not work out exactly this 
way in practice ; but there has no doubt been a great improve- 
ment over the old days when the whole police force went out 
of office when a new party came into power at an election. 
Policewomen. — Not very long ago, it was customary to 
throw all arrested persons, men, women, and children, into 
the same prison cells. In time, it was decided that children 
should be separated from the " hardened " adult criminals, 
and women were placed in separate cells. This was indeed 
a great reform in its day. Recently we see the idea of police- 
women coming to the front; that is, of having uniformed 
women patrol the streets, to arrest and look after girls 
and women who commit offenses. We now have women 
matrons at all prisons where females are imprisoned, women 
probation officers connected with the courts, women police 
in some cities, women jurors, and it is only a question of time 
before women will be serving as judges, particularly in cases 
where women and children are accused of crimes. In fact, 
Chicago has recently established a court for delinquent 
girls with a woman as judge. 



250 American Citizenship 

The question of proper treatment for criminals. — Punishing 
offenders against the law is quite as much a part of police 
work as is arresting them. That is why municipal courts are 
so important (p. 134). If judges are elected by popular 
vote, the voter should give careful attention to the charac- 
ter of the men standing for the office, and if they are to be 
appointed by the mayor, the character of the candidates for 
mayor must be discussed in this connection. Wise, tactful, 
humane, but withal stern, judges, can do a great deal to help 
unfortunate persons charged with offenses. The old way of 
fining offenders and shutting them up in jails because they 
could not pay is now being discredited. If the judge under- 
stands and sympathizes with the poor in their struggle 
against serious obstacles, his decisions will be more en- 
lightened and fairer. Our lawmakers are now giving the 
judges more freedom to apply the law in a different way to 
different offenders as circumstances are shown to demand. 

New plans to help offenders reform themselves. — Stealing, 
^or example, is an offense punishable by a certain penalty; 
but it is clear that different treatment should be meted out 
to the young person who commits his first offense from that 
meted out to a case-hardened offender. A child who has 
been denied proper advantages should not be put on the same 
footing as a person who ought to know better ; but unhappily 
the reverse is too frequently true. After all, the idea of 
punishment ought to be twofold : to protect innocent people 
from wrongdoers, and to help wrongdoers to reform them- 
selves. For this reason cities are now adopting probation 
systems which permit judges to place persons convicted of 
light offenses under the care of probation officers connected 
with the court, with a warning that any new misstep means 
prison. Imprisonment should be a last resort used only 
against serious offenders who are dangerous when free. 
It is the proper business of a police court to inquire why 
offenders have been guilty, what are the chances for reforma- 




A Policewoman 



How the City Government Serves the Community 251 

tion, and what is the best thing to be done with the guilty 
in order to help them reform. Cleveland, Ohio, and Kansas 
City, Missouri, have city farms where certain prisoners are 
sent, and are greatly helped by a healthful outdoor life. 
This is evidence not merely of pity and sentiment: it is 
the apphcation of the principle of conservation to human 

beings. 

The fire department. — Fighting fire is now regarded as 
a duty which every city must undertake at public expense. 
In some cities of Turkey this service used to be left to 
private parties, and any one who found his house on fire had 
to run to a private company and drive a bargain for help. 
In the smaller towns in the United States fire fighting is left 
to volunteer companies which are supported at public expense 
or by contributions from merchants and residents. In all 
large cities, however, the volunteer company has been, or is 
being, superseded by regular companies of firemen organized, 
drilled, and always on duty, like soldiers in war time. It is 
customary to select firemen by civil service rules (p. 133) 
and cities sometimes give pensions to firemen who are 
disabled or who grow old in the service. The wonderful 
machinery which we have for fighting fires, and the courage 
and skill of our firemen are the pride of our cities. 

Fire prevention. — An ounce of prevention is worth a pound 
of cure, and this applies to fighting fire as well as to war on 
disease. Notwithstanding our fine fire-fighting systems, the 
loss in lives and property from fires is larger in the United 
States than anywhere in Europe. This is partially due to 
the wooden buildings, carelessness in constructing factories 
and houses, indifference on the part of those who handle 
matches and inflammable materials, and to the ease with 
which any property may be insured by the owner for large 
sums. Enlightened cities now have '' fire prevention 
bureaus," whose business it is to investigate the cause of 
fires, to enforce the law against those persons who are negli- 



252 American Citizenship 

gent in guarding against fires, to inspect factories and tene- 
ments and stores with a view to ascertaining whether every 
precaution is taken. Something may be done also to prevent 
the insurance companies from encouraging merchants to 
insure their property for more than it is worth, for the prac- 
tice leads many to burn their goods to get the money. 

The city streets. — Every city of any size has what corre- 
sponds to a public works department, charged with building 
and repairing streets, highways, parks, boulevards, sewers, 
and bridges, and many of them have street cleaning depart- 
ments as well. How important this work is it is needless to 
say. The street, as some one has aptly put it, is the vestibule 
to our homes ; it is a place where thousands seek amusement 
and recreation; it is indispensable to traffic and business. 
There are many things which the public works depart- 
ment must do to make the street serve all its various uses 
in a satisfactory manner. 

The ^planning and care of streets. — In the first place, 
streets must be well planned, wide enough to afford proper 
air and light to the buildings and homes along them, and 
laid out in such directions as to make it easy for vehicles 
and pedestrians to go from one part of the city to another 
with the greatest speed. They must be well paved with 
material suitable to the purposes to which they are put — 
heavy stone for those which are used for heavy hauling and 
smoother pavement for those in the residential districts. 
In building them, it is necessary to take into account the best 
ways of flushing and cleaning them. They must be well 
lighted for convenience and safety, as dark streets invite 
both crime and dirt. Large numbers of workmen are em- 
ployed in this department, and the arrangement of proper 
hours, wages, and conditions of labor generally is a serious 
matter. It is clear that it takes a person of intelMgence 
and distinct qualities to head a public works department. 
Certainly that person should be an expert, not one whose 



How the City Government Serves the Community 253 

chief occupation has been sitting around political clubs 
devising mere party schemes. 

Traffic in the streets, — The regulation of the traffic in the 
streets is also a most important matter. By restricting 
traffic bound in a certain direction to specified streets, 
congestion may be partially avoided. Inasmuch as the 
streets are the playgrounds for children in densely crowded 
areas, it is a frequent practice to set off the streets in definite 
short blocks for the use of the children during regular hours 
of the day. Stringent laws are now being enacted against 
reckless driving in the streets, and if a few more " speeders," 
who are only a few degrees removed from murderers, were 
shut up in prison instead of only fined, the city pedestrian 
would find his life more secure than it is at the present time. 
The anti-noise crusade. — The citizen needs protection also 
from the noises in the streets, and it is now quite common to 
prohibit by ordinance the unnecessary blowing of horns and 
whistles and ringing of bells. Hospitals and institutions 
for the sick may be specially protected. For example, a 
New York City ordinance authorizes the marking of certain 
streets as " hospital streets," and any person who is " guilty 
of making any unnecessary noise or a failure to drive at a 
speed not faster than a walk " on any of the streets so des- 
ignated is liable to a fine. In Cleveland, Ohio, the health 
commissioner may establish " hospital zones of quiet," 
and persons who violate the law are punished. 

Public utilities. — Cities of any size now have one or more 
" pubHc utilities " as they are called, — concerns that supply 
to citizens necessaries and conveniences which are used by 
all _ waterworks, electric light plants for street and private 
lighting, gas plants, street railways, sewers, and heating 
plants. The money invested in such utilities in any con- 
siderable city is enormous, and the income received from 
them is likely to be many times the revenue of the city from 
taxation. The rates charged, and the quality of the service 



254 American Citizenship 

rendered (good water or bad, weak gas pressure or poor gas) , 
are matters which affect all. People who do not care whether 
babies die by the thousands (that is, other people's babies) 
from impure milk supply, do care if their electric light bill 
is too high or the water supplied to them is not wholesome. 
There is likely to be more discussion, therefore, about public 
utilities than about health, although of course health depends 
in a large measure upon a pure water supply and proper 
sewerage. 

The franchises granted to public utility corporations. — Most 
of the discussion in city politics about public utilities centers 
around two questions : Shall private companies be allowed to 
own and operate them, and if so, on what terms? Or shall 
they be owned and operated by the city government ? In 
the beginning of our history it was customary to turn all such 
utilities over to private companies, and, in fact, not much 
attention was paid to the terms upon which they were al- 
lowed to operate. The right to build and operate a utility — a 
street railway, for instance — is called a franchise, and the 
bare right is itself valuable, for it usually implies that the 
possessor may exclude other persons from competition. Such 
a right may be sold to the highest bidder, or it may be granted 
on condition that a fixed sum shall be paid yearly to the city, 
or that a certain percentage of the earnings shall be paid. 

Terms of franchises. — In addition to deciding on the 
terms for the grant of the franchise it is necessary to make 
some very strict provisions with regard to the operations of 
the company under the franchise. These provisions in the 
newer franchises usually include the following elements : 

(1) Fixed amount of capital on which the company may 
earn interest. 

(2) Government supervision of all additional capital 
expended, to see that it is actually used in making extensions 
and improvements in the plant. 

(3) Rates to be charged for services rendered — that is. 



How the City Government Serves the Community 255 

for example, price per thousand feet of gas or fare for single 
rides on the street cars. 

(4) Wages and hours of workmen employed by the com- 
pany. 

(5) Public control of the street ; repairs of streets used by 
the company. 

(6) Limitation of the franchise to a period of years. 
Regulation of utilities. — While safeguarding the public 

rights by very specific terms in the charters granted to 
companies, it is now customary to provide for regulation 
of their charges and services. Several cities have public 
service commissions to regulate public utilities, and in some 
states, as in New York and Wisconsin (p. 235), such con- 
cerns are regulated by state commissions. This work of 
regulation and supervision requires expert management on 
the part of the cities. 

Municipal ownership of city utilities. — More recently 
the notion has been gaining favor that the city should not 
grant these valuable rights to private companies, but should 
itself own and manage some or all of its utilities. Munici- 
pal ownership of electric light plants and waterworks es- 
pecially, is now quite common, and a few cities, San Fran- 
cisco, for instance, are experimenting with municipal owner- 
ship of street railways. Private companies seeking valuable 
rights from cities and attempting to escape regulation have 
been mixed up in politics a great deal, and not a little of the 
corruption in our cities has been due to these public utility 
corporations. Enormous sums of money have been made 
also out of private ownership of city franchises. For these 
reasons there is a growing sentiment on the part of the 
public in favor of municipal ownership. The chief objec- 
tion to it is the difficulty of management which such large 
enterprises involve, and it is clear that when a city attempts 
municipal ownership it must be prepared to undertake a 
businesslike administration. 



256 American Citizenship 

Guarding the health of the citizens. — We have spoken 
of the way in which the city government protects the lives 
and property of its citizens against criminals and fire. It 
seems reasonable to every one that this work should be done 
by the city ; but criminals and fire are not the most dangerous 
elements with which the city dweller has to contend. Impure 
air, impure and insufficient food, insanitary homes, exhaust- 
ing or dangerous work, and the absence of facilities for rest 
and recreation affect far more people injuriously than do 
criminals and fire. If the city government should give 
attention to minor matters, should it not consider the 
greater as well ? Cities are rapidly answering this question 
in the affirmative, and are doing considerable work in safe- 
guarding the life and health of their citizens against the 
more subtle enemies of mankind. 

Pure air indoors. — Pure air is a matter of public or govern- 
mental interest. A person cannot breathe pure air if he is 
compelled to labor in a factory where there are so many 
people at work that there is not enough air space for all, or 
if he is compelled to live in a tenement where the rooms are 
small and dark, or to breathe coal smoke from chimneys 
or germ-laden dust from dirty streets. For every criminal 
lurking in a dark place to strike down an unwary pedestrian, 
a million disease-germs lurk in every corner, ready to bring 
pain and suffering, and perhaps death. Progressive cities 
are now controlling the air supply by laws providing for the 
proper building of houses and tenements, so that there may 
be a minimum amount of air space around and in the build- 
ings, and a certain number of windows according to the use 
to which the rooms are to be put. The state government 
helps also by regulating and inspecting factories (p. 233). 
In some instances the height of buildings is limited, with a 
view to preventing dark streets and sunless homes. 

Pure air out-of-doors. — Many cities have ordinances for- 
bidding factories to send out great clouds of coal smoke, 



How the City Government Serves the Community 257 

and ordering the use of smoke consumers. Steam railroads 
are forbidden to coal their engines in certain parts of the city, 
and in time, no doubt, the unsightly, smoke-laden railway 
terminal districts will all be changed for the better by the 
general use of electric engines for bringing trains in and out 
of cities. The dangers to health from dirty streets (to say 
nothing of offenses against the eyes and nose) are leading 
cities to give more attention to street cleaning — the re- 
moval of garbage, ashes, and other wastes in covered wagons, 
the use of water to flush and clean, and the employment of 
regular forces of men to work constantly at the cleansing 
of the streets. This also causes cities to give more atten- 
tion to pavements, for the smooth, well-kept street is more 
easily and more cheaply cleaned than the rough street full of 
holes. 

Breathing spaces in the crowded city. — In the country, 
it is likely to be a person's own fault if he does not get pure 
air; but in the cities conditions are different. A person 
may have to dwell in a region all built up with houses and 
factories, where his only breathing space is the narrow street 
crowded with people. This makes it necessary for the city 
to provide small parks scattered about within easy walking 
distance of every home. These are far more essential than 
great show parks, which are likely to be out of reach of the 
great mass of the working population of the city. Recogni- 
tion of this fact is leading cities to require the reservation 
of small parks in the new additions which are laid out, and to 
buy and destroy houses in crowded districts so as to make 
little breathing spaces all over the city, — " lungs," as they are 
called. The park commissioner who is thinking more of 
plotting and beautifying big parks than of making breathing 
spaces in overcrowded areas is therefore behind the times, 
and those who insist on having such park commissioners 
elected or appointed are just about as guilty of offenses 
against their neighbors as if they did bodily injury. 



258 American Citizenship 

Pure food. — The law has long provided for punishing 
the person who deliberately poisons another or steals from 
him; but what about the manufacturer or merchant who 
sells injurious foodstuff labelled as '' pure " or takes money 
from a purchaser for a commodity which is not as valu- 
able as it is represented to be? There used to be a rule, 
^' Let the purchaser beware," — to the effect that anyone 
was himself to blame if he bought cocoa with brick dust in it, 
thinking it to be pure, or if he was unable to tell the difference 
between real silk and shoddy silk treated with tin to make 
it stiff and rustling. Of course, only merchants would ever 
think of devising such a rule, and now that the consumer is 
thinking for himself he is demanding that the government 
protect him from the dealer who poisons and cheats. 
The health departments of live cities inspect food supplies, 
and particularly milk, and, by cooperating with the state 
and federal governments, which have pure food laws also 
(p. 227), seek to protect the citizen against decayed, inju- 
rious, and poisonous foodstuffs. 

Control of milk supply. — In this war on disease, the control 
of the milk supply takes first rank. Thousands of babies 
die in our great cities every summer on account of impure 
milk, and health departments are giving an increasing amount 
of attention to this matter. Dairies from which milk is 
supplied are inspected, and farmers are required to maintain 
certain standards of cleanliness. In order to supply good 
milk at a low price, New York City has organized a large 
number of public milk stations at which milk of a known high 
grade is sold. Cleveland, Ohio, has established a municipal 
dairy, including two thousand acres of land and large herds 
of fine cattle, and is now supplying tubercular and other 
patients in public institutions with the purest of milk. 

Municipal markets. — The city msiy help the consumer 
get more food for his money as well as protect him against 
adulteration. Professor King, of the University of Pennsyl- 




Courtesy of New York Board of Health. 

A Municipal Milk Station 




Courtesy of New York Board of Health. 

Food Inspection 



How the City Government Serves the Community 259 

vania, found by a painstaking investigation that the increase 
in the price which the consumer paid over the amount re- 
ceived by the producer was from 73 to 105 per cent for butter, 
from 150 to 200 per cent for blackberries, 266 per cent for 
live poultry, 167 per cent for corn, and 150 per cent for 
tomatoes. This increase in price over the cost of production 
was largely due to the rates of transportation, market house 
operations, and '' middlemen's " profits. The increased 
cost of living may be materially reduced by providing proper 
market facilities, where the consumer and the producer 
may be brought together, by reforms in our transportation 
systems and terminals, and by proper systems for freight 
carriage within the limits of the city. Many cities are now 
trying earnestly to grapple with the problem of reducing 
the cost of living by the provision of adequate marketing 
facilities. The state of Washington recently passed a law 
authorizing cities '' to construct, acquire, and operate markets 
and one or more cold storage plants for the sale and preserva- 
tion of butter, eggs, meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, and other 
perishable provisions/' 

Municipal ice ^plants. — Not less important than safeguard- 
ing food supplies is the matter of securing cheap ice in the 
summer time. This is absolutely indispensable in the war 
for the reduction of infant mortality. Some recent famines 
and monopoly prices have made this problem very serious, 
and a few of the cities are taking steps to make sure of ade- 
quate ice supplies by constructing municipal ice plants. 
Wisconsin has authorized (1913) all cities to construct and 
operate ice plants, and it is only a question of time before 
the supplying of refrigeration in the city will be deemed as 
important as supplying water. In the contest against disease 
it is a necessary instrument. 

Attaching disease directly. — Our best city health depart- 
ments are attacking disease directly as well as indirectly. 
They are looking after the health of school children, examin- 



26o American Citizenship 

ing their bodies to discover whether they are sound, and 
suggesting remedies for ailments discovered. Some of them 
have city dental rooms where the teeth of school children 
are attended to. In connection with city hospitals there 
are now visiting nurses who go into the homes of the 
poor and give them personal instruction in the best ways of 
recovering, if ill, or of preventing diseases. Certain cities 
have instituted '' clean-up days," when unsightly and un- 
healthful rubbish is removed and destroyed ; and in Detroit, 
Michigan, it was recently proposed to make the '' clean-up 
day " continuous throughout the year. Inasmuch as large 
numbers of tenements in great cities do not have facilities 
for bathing, several municipal governments are building 
public baths and swimming pools. It is perhaps better to 
require tenement owners to put running water into each 
apartment, and thus encourage the installation of more 
private baths. 

An outline of health work. — Mr. Bruere, in his instructive 
book on city government, suggests that an efl&cient health 
department in a well-governed city should undertake the 
following work : 

Supervision of infectious and contagious diseases, including 
the keeping of a record of such diseases and a study of their 
spread. 

War against tuberculosis, including improvement of 
living conditions, treatment of victims, provisions for those 
unable to secure proper food, and public education on the 
causes and spread of this disease. 

Providing that all newborn babies and their mothers 
have the proper medical care. 

Medical and dental inspection of school children and 
treatment of them. 

The preparation of health exhibits for use in schools, 
churches, and other public places. 

Instruction in hygiene in the schools. 



How the City Government Serves the Community 261 

Hospital treatment for the sick. 

Sanitary control over food supplies and all public places 
in which diseases may be spread. 

The maintenance of public laboratories for the study of 
diseases and their prevention. 

The keeping of adequate health records so that one may 
know where his city stands, as compared with other cities, in 
the war against disease. 

Housing. — '' The Englishman's home is his castle," is 
an old saying ; but the great majority of the citizens of large 
cities cannot call their homes their own or look upon them 
as castles, either. More than half of the people of our 
largest cities live in rented tenements or houses, and they 
have little or no control over the condition of the places in 
which they live. For this reason city governments are 
interfering with the construction and management of rented 
homes. Housing laws provide the way in which tenements 
shall be built with a view to securing proper air space and 
ventilation ; they declare that the hallways and courts of 
tenements shall be kept clean; and they arrange for the 
periodical inspection of such places by public officers. In 
Europe, the failure of the laws to secure' proper homes 
for the poor has led many great cities to tear down slum 
houses and build and rent municipal houses. In Germany, 
cities own thousands of houses and tenements which are 
rented to those who cannot have homes of their own, and the 
city is thus better able to say what shall be the condition in 
which this property is to be kept. 

Play and rest for city people. — Most adults and many 
children have to work hard all of the time to make a living 
and, to keep in fit condition for work and for health and com- 
fort, they must have rest and recreation. To meet this need 
all kinds of private enterprises are established: saloons, 
dance halls, moving picture shows, theaters, museums, and 
the like. Many say that recreation is a private matter. 



262 American Citizenship 

Those who know most about the needs of great cities, how- 
ever, say that it is not altogether a private matter ; that the 
city is interested in the amusement places which are main- 
tained — in whether they are wholesome or help to spread 
vice, disease, and crime. For this reason, our cities are 
taking more and more care of the recreation of their residents. 
We can only enumerate a few of the ways in which the city 
government can help provide wholesome recreation. 

What the city can do to help provide recreation. — (1) It may 
establish ^' recreation centers." Chicago, for example, has 
created a number of small parks conveniently distributed 
over the city. In each of these parks there is an outdoor 
playground for all sorts of games ; and there is also in each 
one a large building with a gymnasium, swimming pool, 
assembly rooms, reading rooms, and resting places. In 
charge of the recreation there are competent directors whose 
business it is to interest the people of their neighborhood in 
wholesome play and to see that all goes off well. 

(2) The city may establish social centers at the school 
buildings ; that is, have lectures, entertainments, debates, 
games, and libraries for old and young. 

(3) The city may build municipal auditoriums like that 
in Denver, Colorado, at which high-grade entertainments 
are given at a nominal charge, or even free. 

(4) Games and music may be furnished in the public 
parks. 

(5) The city may establish and conduct moving picture 
shows of high character, and control the private shows. 

(6) The public schools may be continued through the 
summer as vacation schools, at which recreation may be com- 
bined with some intellectual development. 

(7) The city, sometimes cooperating with private asso- 
ciations, may build and maintain playgrounds at all crowded 
centers. 

(8) The city may establish municipal dance halls and 



How the City Government Serves the Community 263 

provide for the very careful policing and supervision of 
private halls. 

(9) Where the city is located near large bodies of water, 
it may reserve stretches of beach for public uses. 

(10) The city may establish periodical fetes, such as his- 
torical pageants and ^' a safe and sane Fourth of July." 

(11) It is now proposed in many places that the city should 
have a playmaster as a regular municipal officer, charged 
with the organization and direction of recreation. 

Education in the city. — The public schools in the city 
are gradually being made to do more to prepare the students 
for the practical business of life and enable them to under- 
stand about the useful and proper work of the government. 
For the former purpose, our schools are giving more atten- 
tion to training students for various trades and occupations 
and to finding out how they may make the best of their 
opportunities. Thus v/e have courses in science, engineering, 
mechanics, and domestic arts, while vocational bureaus 
look after fitting the pupils into good positions when they 
finish their work at school. For the latter purpose — en- 
abling the students to understand about the useful and proper 
work of the government — more attention is being given to 
the study of civics, as the art of helping others and ourselves 
through the use of the government as a common agent of all. 

Newer features of our schools. — In addition to the regular 
work of classroom instruction, our cities are now develop- 
ing several new features : 

Medical inspection and close supervision of the health of 
children and the provision of the facilities for the remedy 
of diseases. 

Open-air schools for those suffering from lung trouble 
or otherwise debilitated. 

Vacation schools offering recreation and instruction to 
children who would otherwise be playing in the hot, crowded 
streets in the summer time. 



264 American Citizenship 

Provision for school lunches at a low price or free to all 
children. More than seventy cities now serve such lunches. 
We realize that it is useless to attempt to teach children 
who are hungry. 

Cooperation of the schools in government work. — A great 
deal of unnecessary work must be done by the government 
simply because the citizens are ignorant or will not cooperate. 
If the people would live and work in the proper way and 
demand proper living and working conditions, it would not 
be necessary for the government to do so much inspection 
and prevention work and pay out so much for repairing dam- 
ages done. In order to make the citizen alert on questions 
of city government, the following matters should be brought 
carefully and impressively to the attention of students in 
the schools : 

The city death rate : what causes it to be so high, what 
steps are taken to reduce it, and how may we all help ? 

Fires in the city at a terrible cost of life and property : 
how we may help to reduce the number. 

Pure food : how may it be guaranteed ? 

Crime in the city : how far is it due to lack of proper rec- 
reational and educational facilities ? 

Public and private hygiene : what can we do to make the 
city a cleaner place to live in ? 

The slums : is it necessary that there should be such places 
in cities? 

The unemployed : what can the city do to help in hard 
times ? 

These and many kindred matters are proper subjects to be 
discussed and thought about in every city school in the whole 
country. 

The extension of education in cities. — Another striking 
development in our municipalities is the extension of educa- 
tion beyond the confines of the schoolroom to citizens 
of all ages and classes. This is illustrated in the estabhsh- 



How the City Government Serves the Community 265 

ment of a public lecture system like that built up in New 
York under the direction of Dr. Henry M. Leipziger. 
According to this plan free public lectures by authorities 
in science, history, economics, civics, and other fields are 
given at various centers scattered throughout the city, and 
the young and old are afforded an opportunity to continue 
their pursuit of knowledge indefinitely. This institution 
is popularly known as '' the People's University." A few 
of our cities, like New York and Cincinnati, have municipal 
colleges in addition to the regular public schools. Nearly 
everywhere night schools are conducted for those who can- 
not attend in the day time, and opportunities are afforded 
for business and technical training. Foreigners are also 
helped to acquire a knowledge of the Engjish language. 

City planning. — In discussing the various things which a 
city may do, we have seen how many of them are closely 
connected. Health, for example, depends upon clean streets, 
pure water, pure air, proper food, and upon well laid out 
streets and sanitary houses. It is because all of these things 
depend in a large measure upon the '^ layout of the town " 
that many leaders in city government are turning to '' town 
planning " ; that is, establishing public control over the 
general plotting and building up of, the city with a view 
to securing easy transportation, wide streets, airy homes, 
city markets, and a sufficient number of public parks. 
We now have a national association of experts who meet 
annually to consider this big problem, and many cities have 
city planning commissions to which is given more or less 
power in deciding what streets shall be laid out and how, 
what parks shall be established and where, and similar mat- 
ters. The great danger in city planning is that too much 
attention may be given to the ^' show places " — the parks, 
pubUc buildings, and main streets — and too little attention 
to the back streets and alleys, where the vast majority of the 
people live. 



266 American Citizenship 

Raising the money to pay the bills. — All these various 
enterprises, which the city undertakes, cost money, and the 
city must secure it from the citizens by taxing them, or by 
engaging in the supply of water, gas, electricity, or some 
other commodity. It must come from the citizens, that is 
certain. The most of it comes from direct payment of taxes. 
Each citizen's property is assessed — that is, a value is put 
upon it by public officers — and he is compelled to pay into 
the city treasury an amount proportioned to the value thus 
established. That is, if a person owns $5000 worth of prop- 
erty, and the rate of taxation is 2 per cent, he pays $100 
into the treasury ; a person with $10,000 worth pays $200, 
and so on. The city also gets money from licenses such as 
liquor and taxi-cab licenses, special taxes on businesses of one 
kind or another, fees and fines, revenues from public utilities 
such as waterworks and electric light plants. If a person 
does not own property, he pays taxes none the less, though 
he may not know it. He must rent a place to live in, and in 
his rent money he pays a part of the tax which the owner of 
the house must pay. 

The " single tax " on the values of land. — Recently our 
cities have begun to consider a new variety of tax known 
as the " single tax " which is laid heavily upon the value of 
the land. For example, a lot in the center of a city increases 
enormously in value as the city grows, no matter what kind 
of building is on it. There are instances of lots selling for 
a few dollars when a city is small and for millions when 
the city has grown to larger proportions. Now this in- 
crease in the value of the lot is not due to any work which 
the owner has done, or any building which he has erected, 
but solely to the growth of the city — the building of fac- 
tories and homes all about it. The advocate of the " single 
tax " believes in abolishing all other taxes, and taking this 
increase in the value of land in the form of a tax. Many 
who do not believe in the single tax as a theory approve the 



How the City Government Serves the Community 267 

idea of raising more and more revenues from taxes on land 
values, and reducing the taxes on buildings and improve- 
ments. It is held that the man who builds or does some- 
thing for the community should not be taxed as high as the 
man who merely sits and watches his lots increase in value. 

Making the budget. — The determination of how the money 
raised by the city shall be spent is a really fundamental mat- 
ter. It is called ^' budget making," and it generally falls 
into the following stages : 

The furnishing by department heads of the estimates for 
the work of the several departments, fire, health, police, etc. 

The tabulation and arrangement of the several estimates 
and their organization into a budget by the proper authority : 
the board of estimate and apportionment in New York City, 
the mayor in Boston, and in some cities the finance committee 
of the council or commission. 

Hearings on the estimates at which citizens, taxpayers, 
and associations may speak in favor of or against certain 
specified expenditures. 

The final vote on the estimates by the city council or 
commission, turning them into an appropriation law. 

From the citizens' point of view the hearings on the 
budget are essential, for this gives them a chance to express 
their opinions on proposed expenditures and to advocate 
appropriations for beneficent public purposes. 

Poverty in the city. — Owing to the low wages paid in many 
industries and the large amount of unemployment which 
exists, a very considerable portion of the inhabitants of 
cities are in poverty. Formerly, the relief of the poor was 
turned over to private charities supplemented by doles 
from the public funds, but cities have now begun to con- 
sider seriously what they may do to reduce the number of 
their poverty-stricken inhabitants. 

The Kansas City Board of Public Welfare. — Kansas City, 
Missouri, recently established a Board of Public Welfare 



268 American Citizenship 

charged with the duty of studying the condition of the people 
of the city and providing remedies for evils of all kinds, 
laying '' emphasis on justice before charity and on preven- 
tion rather than cure." This board manages a municipal 
pawnshop which has put the '' loan sharks " out of business ; 
it conducts a legal aid bureau to which the poor may turn 
for legal aid in the protection of their rights ; it main- 
tains a quarry to give employment for unemployed men ; it 
has helped thousands of families to make themselves self- 
supporting and self-respecting; and it has studied every 
social problem created by city life. It is attempting to fight 
poverty rather than to relieve its victims. This is only one 
manifestation of the growing determination of cities to es- 
tablish decent conditions of life and labor within their 
borders. 

The new city program. — In our survey of the work of 
progressive cities we see that the matters now receiving the 
earnest attention of thoughtful men and women may be sum- 
marized as follows : 

Control and regulation of public utility companies to pre- 
vent stock watering, unfair charges, and poor services. 

Provisions for meeting the grave problems of unemploy- 
ment. 

Healthful recreation to afford pleasure and reduce vice. 

Playgrounds for children. 

Breathing spaces in small parks. 

Proper homes for renters. 

Taxation of land values. 

Municipal ice supply. 

Markets and cost of the transportation of food supplies. 

Pure food and inspection. 

Milk supply and public milk stations. 

District nursing systems. 

Medical inspection of school children. 

Open-air schools. 



How the City Government Serves the Community 269 

Vocational training. 

Suppression and prevention of diseases. 
Adequate hospital services. 

Public safety for pedestrians and working people. 
Proper treatment of prisoners. 
Juvenile and women's courts. 
The appointment of policewomen. 
Suppression of '' loan sharks." 

Public sanitation and hygiene — waste disposal and street 
cleaning. 

Comprehensive city planning. 

Questions 

1. Give a description of some city you know. 

2. What is a city survey and what subjects may it cover ? 

3. What is the relation of a city survey to a city government ? 

4. What problems are involved in the policing of a city ? What 
reforms have recently been made in police work ? 

5. What work is done by a fire prevention bureau ? 

6. How do the streets of a city affect the lives of the people ? 

7. What is meant by the public utiUties of a city? Name 
some of them and state which you regard as most important. 

8. What is meant by municipal ownership and why is it 
advocated ? 

9. In what way is pure air a government matter ? 

10. How does a progressive city attack disease ? 

11. What is the object of housing laws ? 

12. In what respect is recreation a public matter ? 

13. What is town planning and what mistakes in it are often 
made? 

14. How does the city finance its undertakings ? 

15. What is the single tax ? 

16. What is a slum and what causes it ? How far can the city 
go in abolishing it ? 

Additional Reading 

The Police Wokk of the City: Beard, American City Goveriv- 
ment, pp. 158-189; Bru&re, The New City Government, pp. 
263-313. 



270 American Citizenship 

Protecting Public Health : Beard, pp. 261-286 ; Bruere, pp. 

314-334. 
Housing Reform : Beard, pp. 287-310. 
Making the Budget : Bruere, pp. 171-204. 

The Streets of the City : Beard, pp. 242-260 ; Bruere, 233-262. 
Recreation in the City : Beard, pp. 334-355. 
Municipal Ownership of Utilities : Beard, pp. 218-241 ; King, 

The Regulation of Municipal Utilities, pp. 23—55. 
Regulation op Municipal Utilities : Beard, pp. 190-217 ; 

King, pp. 3-22 ; 75-98 ; 185-207. 
Taxation and Finance : Beard, pp. 129-157. 



CHAPTER XVII 
THE WORK OF RURAL GOVERNMENT 

I. The interest of country people in state and national politics. 

1. How the country is connected with the city. 

2. How rural regions are dependent upon one another. 

3. Rural districts are at the mercy of great corporations 

unless the government interferes. 
II. The rural survey. 

III. The building and repair of roads. 

IV. Local option on saloons. 
V. Educational activities. 

1. The union of school districts. 

2. New ideas in educational work. 

3. Helping children choose their life work. 

4. The education of adults. 

5. The circulating library. 

6. The schoolhouse as a community center. 

7. The importance of good school boards. 
VI. Recreation. 

1. Play for village and country boys and girls. 
VII. Village public utilities. 
VIII. The punishment of crime. 

1. After the prisoner has served his term. 
IX. The care of the poor. 
X. Improving country districts. 

1. The good example of the schools. 

2. The use of the power over fire hazards to clean up villages. 

3. The use of the health law to improve villages. 

4. The "clean-up week." 

5. The improvement of farms. 

6. Fighting ignorance and poverty. 



The interest of the country people in state and national 
politics. — The people who dwell in villages, towns, townships, 

271 



272 American Citizenship 

or the rural regions of counties are apt to think that the 
affairs of government affect them very little and that when 
the roads are in fair shape and good schools are in operation, 
there is nothing left for the citizens to think about. This 
would be true if there were not close connections between 
the great cities and the country districts ; but as a matter 
of fact there is scarcely a problem that the city faces which 
does not in some way touch the coimtry. 

It may be said that we have laid altogether too much stress 
on the differences between city and rural problems and have 
separated them too sharply in our minds. The arbitrary 
boundary line between town and country should be broken 
down and the problems of government considered as a whole 
rather than as municipal and rural. 

How the country is connected with the city. — As big business 
corporations in the cities, dairy companies and produce and 
grain merchants extend their branches out into the country 
to gather in the milk, eggs, and other products of the farm, 
the farmer must take an increasing interest in what goes 
on at the other end of the line. As the great wholesale, 
mail order, and manufacturing establishments of the cities 
reach out to sell the inhabitants :of rural regions everything 
from canned tongue to automobiles, country people assume 
an increasing responsibility for the conditions of the working 
people who produce these goods, or at all events they are 
compelled to think of the sanitary arrangements of the fac- 
tories in which the food they buy is packed and the clothes 
they wear are made. And all this trading between the 
city and country means an enormous freight business, and 
high rates may add to the cost of what the farmer buys, 
and cut down his profits on the things he has to sell. 

How rural regions are dependent upon one another. — Not 
only are the country districts dependent in many ways upon 
the cities; the several rural regions of the United States 
are linked up with one another, as each tends to specialize 



The Work of Rural Government 273 

in certain kinds of agriculture. For example, New England 
farmers are to a great extent dependent upon the West for 
corn and wheat, because they are themselves engaged in 
dairy farming and tobacco raising. The whole country 
rehes largely upon California and the Southern states for 
citrus fruits. Cane and beet sugar regions depend upon 
the national market, and, one may add, upon the national 
tariff. In other words, no country district is self-sufficing; 
each becomes increasingly involved with other districts in 
the exchange of produce of one kind or another. 

Rural districts are at the mercy of great business corporations 
unless the government interferes. — So far as the government 
has anything to do with business, the control of trusts, the 
regulation of railway rates, the tariff, and money, the people 
of the country are necessarily deeply concerned with national 
and state politics. Even such simple matters as railroad 
crossings and highways are not wholly within rural control. 
A railway company will pay little attention to the complaints 
of a village about a dangerous crossing; the village must 
look to the state for relief. The village cannot force a rail- 
way to build a switch for the convenience of shippers; it 
must look to a state railway commission for help in such 
matters. The highway which connects the farms surround- 
ing the village is no longer a local road, but is very probably 
a part of a chain of highways constructed at state expense, 
wholly or in part. A large proportion of the farms are mort- 
gaged; at some periods in our history certain states have 
had as high as two-thirds of their farms mortgaged, and a 
considerable portion of the mortgages are held in cities. 
Thus it comes about that the farmers are deeply affected 
by the monetary system ; particularly are they anxious to 
prevent an appreciation of the value of money or a de- 
preciation in the prices of farm produce with which in the 
last analysis their debts must be paid (p. 212). For the 
purpose of advancing their interests the farmers have often 



274 American Citizenship 

formed parties and unions such as the Populist Party and 
the Grange and the Farmers' Alliance. 

The rural survey. — Country districts and villages have 
plenty of important local problems of their own, and it is 
time that they were making surveys similar to those which 
are being undertaken in cities. Such rural surveys may 
very well include : 

(1) A study of the amount of money raised by taxation 
for local purposes and the ways in which it is disbursed, with 
special reference to economy and the proper use of the public 
funds. County governments are usually about as corrupt 
as city governments, but they are not so often overhauled. 

(2) A study of the roads for the purpose of discovering 
whether the work now done is done wisely and economically, 
whether new main and branch lines should be built, and 
what regions are not properly connected with the towns and 
other districts. 

(3) A study of local resources with a view to finding out 
whether new and profitable enterprises may not be es- 
tablished. 

(4) A study of illiteracy and the work of the schools in 
relation to the work done in the most wide awake sections of 
the country. 

(5) Amount of crime, and nature and causes thereof. 

(6) The amount of poverty and the best methods of help- 
ing the younger generation of the poverty-stricken to lead 
useful lives. 

(7) The number of saloons, amount of liquor sold, and 
effect on crime and poverty in the community. 

(8) The foreigners in the region and what is being done to 
make intelligent citizens of them. 

(9) The improvement of recreational life for the com- 
munity. Ways and means of bringing the people together 
in service and play so that they may be taken out of the 
deadly monotony of drudgery or loafing. 




Courtesy of The American City. 




Courtesy of The American City. 

Good and Bad Roads 



The Work of Rural Government 275 

(10) The farms, and whether enlightened methods are 
used by the farmers to make the most out of their land. 

(11) The labor of farm workers, women and children. 

(12) The death rate and causes of disease, as compared 
with other similar communities. 

(13) The amount of waste and neglected land and the 
state of the timber lands. 

(14) Freight and passenger rates to and from neighboring 
communities. 

By a study of these and kindred questions new light will 
be poured in upon the problems of country life, and local 
patriotism in favor of improvement and advance on all lines 
will be aroused. This would react upon the cities, for a 
considerable portion of the congestion in the cities is due to 
the monotony and drudgery of country life which drive the 
people to the towns. 

The building and repair of roads. — It is the business 
of the township, town, or county to look after roads and 
bridges. In the country, good roads add greatly to the 
comfort and intelligence of the inhabitants, for they can go 
about more readily and keep in touch with new ideas and 
improvements. In many regions, the roads are largely 
kept up by farmers who '' work out " the road tax which is 
laid upon them, and in such cases their chief interest is often 
merely in *' putting in the time" rather than in constructing 
and maintaining good roads. Moreover, not being expert 
surveyors and road makers, they frequently do poor jobs 
indeed. Here the state government often steps in and pro- 
vides that, in case the local community will pay a certain 
amount toward a good road, the state will pay the rest and 
employ experts to lay out and build the road. The '' good 
roads movement " throughout the country depends largely 
upon the enterprise of the state. The state is also slowly 
looking after dangerous railway crossings and compelling 
railway companies to provide means for crossing over or 
under their tracks. 



276 American Citizenship 

Local option on saloons. — In a great many states, the 
township, or village, or county, as the case may be, is given 
the power to decide whether it will have saloons or not, — 
local option as it is called, — and is given the power also to 
make minor regulations about the hours of closing saloons. 
This is an important matter, and an ever increasing number 
of \illages or rural regions are voting saloons out altogether. 
Of course, this does not stop drinking entirely, but it is be- 
lieved that it removes temptations from the young. At all 
events, it is thought to work for the well-being of the people, 
or it would not be so widely adopted. In several common- 
wealths state-wide prohibition has been adopted because it 
is difficult to stop the sale of liquor in one village if a neigh- 
boring village allows it. 

Educational activities. — The management of schools is 
in a large part left fco the village or township or district as 
the case may be ; but as we have seen (p. 225) the state 
does a great deal to bring about certain standards so that 
the most backward rural region cannot fall too low in the 
scale. To the local community is given the task of elect- 
ing the school trustees or school board and of deciding what 
kind of building is to be erected and, within the limits of the 
state law, the kind of instruction that is to be given. Thus 
the community can decide whether the children are to have 
merely the bare rudiments required by law or are to have 
the advantages of special training in high schools, technical 
schools, and schools of applied arts and sciences. How 
important all this work is becomes apparent when we remem- 
ber that more than one-half of our people live on farms and 
in villages of less than 2500 inhabitants. 

The union of school districts. — The limitations of the little 
red schoolhouse, with one room overcrowded and one teacher 
overworked, are now being recognized. It is a custom in 
several states to combine a number of districts so that larger 
buildings can be secured, and several teachers, each some- 



The Work of Rural Government 277 

what a specialist in some line of work, employed. Where 
this is done, wagons are provided for carrying the chil- 
dren to and from school. High schools as well as graded 
schools are made possible in this way. This helps to make 
the country a more satisfactory place in which to live, for 
parents are not compelled to leave the farm or little village 
to give their children excellent educational advantages. 

New ideas in educational work, — Our rural schools in 
advanced communities are now rivaling those of the most 
progressive cities. It has been found that country children 
suffer from defective eyes, bad teeth, and other bodily ills 
which handicap them, and that medical inspection is just as 
necessary for them as for the city children. We are begin- 
ning to feel that the old rudiments of learning — reading, 
writing, and arithmetic — and the new rudiments of culture 
added in the high schools — Latin, literature, botany, and 
history — do not meet all of the' demands of the country 
regions. People are therefore beginning to ask for more of 
the applied arts and sciences which will make more skillful 
farmers, workmen, and housewives, and in response to this 
demand courses in the science of agriculture and in domestic 
science are being offered in the country schools on some- 
what the same principle that manual training and domestic 
science are taught in city schools. The idea behind this 
new work is not to turn the boys into mere farmers' and the 
girls into mere household drudges, but rather to prepare them 
to do their work well so that they may have more leisure for 
the cultivation of the gifts of mind and heart, which is the 
chief end of life. 

Helping children choose their life work. — Coupled with 
this newer training is what is called vocational guidance which 
is intended to help the children and parents in selecting 
occupations. There are differences of taste and abilities 
among children, and it is important not to get a round peg 
into a square hole, as the saying goes. Our country schools 



278 American Citizenship 

are therefore beginning to consider seriously whether they 
have done their whole duty in giving the children a set 
course of " book learning/' without making any inquiry 
into the work which the children will probably have to do in 
life or into the opportunities offered to them in the im- 
mediate neighborhood or the distant city. 

The education of adults. — The idea that the country school 
may be used for the education of adults as well as children 
— the idea which has led to extension lectures and social 
center work in cities (p. 263) — is now finding its way 
into rural communities. State universities in the West 
are doing a great deal to bring this about. They send out 
lecturers on agricultural problems, domestic science, health, 
village improvement, and kindred matters, as well as lit- 
erature and social science ; and extension courses are given 
in rural schools. In a few states, provisions are made by law 
for the organization of voluntary farmers' associations in 
the counties for the purpose of arranging with the state 
university or agricultural college for systematic instruction 
in all manner of farm problems. By this method, the best 
that is being done at the higher institutions of learning may 
be made more or less available to the people of the most 
distant farming region. If a community sits in darkness to- 
day, except in the most inaccessible mountain regions, it is 
in a large measure its own fault. 

The circulating library. — The circulation of good litera- 
ture helps the rural community in a quiet way, and the 
schools may encourage this. When the community cannot 
afford to have a library of its own, the school library may be 
used for general purposes. Several states recognizing the 
need in rural regions for good books have provided " cir- 
culating libraries " put up in boxes to be sent on application 
to towns and villages and country schools. These boxes 
contain selected literature — fiction, history, biography, 
science, applied science, agriculture, and art — and they 



The Work of Rural Government 279 

are kept circulating about the state from community to 
community as they are demanded. Where the village has a 
library of its own, the managers may stimulate interest in 
the latest and best books by lectures, entertainments, and 

debates. 

The schoolhouse as a community center. — In fact, there is 
now a strong movement in favor of using the country and 
village school building as a center for all kinds ^of public 
activities. In some communities it is used for polling places 
at elections and for political meetings. There has been some 
objection to political meetings on the ground that party feel- 
ing may lead to quarrels ; but those who favor using the 
schools for this purpose reply that if one of the purposes 
of education is to train men and women in citizenship, there 
ought to be no objection to the discussion of the issues of 
pontics in the schoolhouses. Furthermore, all political par- 
ties are given equal rights, so that there need be no charges 
of favoritism. Ohio recently invented the slogan " a light 
in every schoolhouse," which expresses the hope that the 
schoolhouse in rural regions may become a social center like 
the city schoolhouse. 

The importance of good school hoards. — When we think of 
all the good work which the village and rural schools can 
do, and often achieve, we realize how important is the selec- 
tion of the county superintendent of education, the school 
boards, and district school supervisors. We see also how 
important it is that the officers and teachers of the schools 
should be well paid so that those who think of becoming teach- 
ers can afford to give the proper time and attention to their 
preparatory training, and so that quick and intelligent men 
and women may find the teacher's career at least fairly 
remunerative. 

Recreation for country people. — There is as much need 
for decent and healthful recreation in the country and small 
villages as in the cities. ''All work and no play makes Jack a 



28o American Citizenship 

dull boy," is an old adage ; and it may be added that all work 
and no play makes men and women dull too. In thousands 
of villages and country regions there are now no common 
meeting places except the corner stores, the streets, or the 
saloons. The churches are open only on Sunday and the 
schools are closed at night and most of the summer months. 
The saloon is the one place where the men can sit down and 
laugh and talk or play games, and the women and girls have 
only the streets. To meet this very grave evil, enterprising 
school boards are using the schools as recreation centers. 
They are providing rooms for games and dancing, halls for 
meetings, entertainments, lectures and debates, gymnasiums 
open all the year round for boys and girls. A new county 
high school in a stirring Western community has a large 
auditorium, a kitchen and dining hall, a gymnasium and 
swimming pool, a workshop, and several small rooms for 
reading and for games. 

Play for village and country hoys and girls. — The whole 
problem of recreation for the young boys and girls in villages 
and country regions is almost, if not quite, as serious as in the 
cities. Gangs of " tough " boys develop in the village, and 
girls go wrong there just as in cities. The play of boys and 
girls needs to be looked after by experts quite as much as 
their education. This can be done in connection with the 
schools by the employment of regular directors who plan and 
organize the games and supervise the various activities in 
such a way as to prevent rowdyism and stimulate honor- 
able competition. Of course it is not meant that all should 
engage in athletic contests, for those having a talent for 
music may be organized into a special club; others with 
more studious inclinations may be formed into dramatic 
and debating societies; those of a practical turn of mind 
may be grouped into " corn clubs " or " applied science 
clubs." Thus the intellectual life of the young may be 
stimulated immensely. When neighboring villages have 



The Work of Rural Government 281 

organized their play, inter-village contests may be held, 
encouraging the spirit of friendly emulation and adding 
diversion to the life of the young people. 

Village public utilities. — Villages of fifteen hundred or 
more inhabitants have some of the public utility problems 
(p. 253) of the large city, if only in miniature. They must 
provide for lighting their streets at night, and if they are 
spirited enough, they will have public water works and 
sewers. If the village undertakes to own and manage its 
own plants, the voters must be alert to see that the town 
officers charged with looking after- these affairs do their 
work well. If the village engages private companies to 
build and manage the plants, the voters must be watchful to 
see that the right terms are made in the first place and that 
exorbitant rates are not allowed. In those states which 
have public service commissions (see p. 234), the village may 
rely upon the commission to secure proper rates and services 
from its public utilities. 

The punishment of crime. — Villages and counties have 
some of the problems of crime and poverty to deal with, 
although not on as large a scale as the cities. Officers must 
be elected to punish those who break the laws, and jails 
must be provided for those who are sent to prison. Far 
too many of our country jails are not fit for human habita- 
tion, and inasmuch as those who are sent to local jails are 
usually sent for only a short time and then set free again, 
the community for self -protection — if for no higher motive 
— cannot afford to let the jails be dirty and insanitary. 
Whether prisoners turn out well or badly when their service 
is over depends not a little upon the character of the sheriff 
or constable or local officer in charge of the jails, so that the 
selection of these officers is an important matter. Many 
of our villages and counties may learn a great deal from the 
newer practices of city courts in criminal cases (p. 250). 

AJter the 'prisoner has served his term. — A prisoner who is 



282 American Citizenship 

turned out of jail at the end of his term penniless and per- 
haps far from his home is very likely to steal or commit 
some trespass before he settles down, and thus get back into 
jail within a short time. The necessity of looking beyond 
the term of the jail sentence to the problem of setting the 
offender on the right path is just as imperative in the country 
as in cities. It is even more important in a way, for in the 
cities criminals naturally gravitate to certain centers, while 
in the country those who have been to jail hang around the 
village street corners and associate with the young and 
innocent. 

The care of the poor. — While the state helps by main- 
taining state institutions for the insane, deaf, dumb, blind, 
and other diseased and helpless poor, much of the support of 
the poverty stricken who cannot take care of themselves or 
have no one upon whom they can depend for help falls upon 
the local government — the town, the township, and the 
county. The local officers are sometimes empowered to give 
outdoor relief ; that is, furnish money or goods to the poor. 
The county generally has its poor farm, which is too often a 
wretched place where contractors and keepers make money 
furnishing the inmates bad food and lodging. It is import- 
ant that the community should do all it can to help the un- 
fortunate to support themselves in a respectable manner, 
and particularly to help their children out of the slough of 
despond. Those who are incapable of looking after them- 
selves should be provided reasonable comfort. It is neces- 
sary, therefore, that rural communities should not neglect in 
any way the proper care of the poor; but it is far more 
essential that all communities, the states, and the nation, 
should address themselves to the great task remaining before 
them of preventing undeserved poverty (p. 229). 

Improving country districts. — Although state laws about 
housing conditions do not usually apply in villages, and 
village authorities have no power to order the improvement 



The Work of Rural Government 283 

of local property, there is no reason why many of our country 
towns should be so hideous to look at and demoralizing to 
live in. The American likes to think of his home, if he 
owns one, as his castle, and to think that it is his own business 
if it is insanitary, unpainted, weatherbeaten, and if his 
yards, front and back, are full of weeds and rubbish. It 
seems like an almost hopeless task to bring our villages 
into artistic and sanitary condition — delightful to the eye 
and pleasing to the moral sense ; but beginnings have been 
made. 

The good example of the schools. — In the first place, the 
idea of improving and cleaning up unsightly villages may 
well begin at the schools. Teachers can help by emphasizing 
the value of personal cleanliness, and the art of taking 
care of the body and cleaning the teeth is becoming one of 
the things taught in country as well as city schools. Per- 
sonal cleanliness leads to a desire to improve surrounding 
conditions. Boys and girls who would be comely and clean 
in body will not long be patient with dirty yards and homes. 
The school buildings and grounds can be improved so that 
they look like shining temples set on a hill, and they will be 
good examples to tha people who dwell around them. The 
school may, therefore, be the center of public sentiment in 
favor of more art in life, and when public sentiment is 
awakened, a way will be found to improve the villages. 

The use of the power over fire hazards to clean up villages. — 
Then there are other ways of getting at the problem. Even 
the stoutest individualist will admit that he has no right to 
act in such a way as to endanger the life and property of his 
neighbor. Almost every country village has a collection of 
unsightly wooden shacks used for livery barns and store- 
houses which are a constant danger as fire menaces. Sev- 
eral states now have " fire laws '^ enforced by a state fire 
marshal and local officers. It is possible under these laws 
to order the destruction of such dangerous buildings, or at 



284 American Citizenship 

least their repair, so as to reduce the fire hazard. Thus by 
an indirect method local improvements may be brought 
about. 

The use of the health law to improve villages. — Then there 
is the health law. Nearly every village has a local health 
officer whose business it is to prevent the existence of in- 
sanitary conditions within his jurisdiction. He can order 
weeds cut and yards cleaned up and drainage improved ; but 
he is usually a neighbor of the offenders in these matters, 
and hesitates to make enemies of them. It is a good thing 
to have the state officers look in upon villages occasionally 
and force the local officer to act. Fair and just enforcement 
of the health laws would remove many an eyesore from our 
villages. 

The " clean-up week.'' — There has recently been invented 
a new institution known as " clean-up week." The village 
or town officers, or a committee of public spirited men and 
women may begin it. It is a voluntary affair, but that 
does not make it less effective. The local officers may start 
by putting the streets and sidewalks and public squares into 
proper shape, and this invites the cooperation of private 
citizens. During a clean-up week, the town or the com- 
mittee of citizens furnishes wagons which go about from 
house to house collecting all of the rubbish and hauling it 
away to be burnt ; front and back yards are cleaned, weeds 
are cut, and flowers are set out. Sometimes prizes are given 
for the best yards, and seeds and bulbs are distributed by 
the committee on public improvement. There are many 
instances of little towns and villages being absolutely trans- 
formed under the stimulus of clean-up weeks. Self-respect 
once awakened is likely not to disappear altogether. 

The improvement of farms. — Tumble-down farm build- 
ings and slovenly, neglected farms present a more difficult 
problem. There is no way of compelling a farmer to put his 
property into trim shape, and farmers, like other people. 



The Work of Rural Government 285 

are naturally quick to resent any interference with their 
ways. Some states force them to cut the weeds along the roads 
which run past their property and to keep their fences in 
such shape as to prevent their stock from getting out. Where 
the farmer supplies milk to a neighboring city or village, the 
dairy inspector has the right to order him to fix up his barns 
and clean up his stables so that the milk which he sells may 
not be dirty or impure. The death rate among farmers' 
children could be materially reduced by the proper super- 
vision of the ways of handling the milk, or better, by educat- 
ing men and women in the country in the science and art of 
healthful living and working. 

Fighting ignorance and poverty. — The best way to improve 
backward country districts is to fight the chief causes of their 
backwardness — ignorance and poverty. These two causes 
run closely together. The poor man is handicapped in his 
struggle for education and the ignorant man who does not 
know how to make the best of his opportunities is likely 
to remain poor. The more fortunate communities must 
help the backward communities by extending to them educa- 
tional facilities, and they should at least give the children 
opportunities to find out better ways of living and working. 
Through the granges and other farmers' societies, the more 
progressive farmers may help their less fortunate neighbors 
to help themselves. The federal government is now study- 
ing the problem of " agricultural credit " with a viev/ to 
lending farmers money at a low rate of interest so that they 
may be encouraged to improve their farms and their modes 
of living. 

Questions 

1. What interest should country people have in city conditions 
and affairs ? 

2. What interest should city people have in country conditions 
and affairs ? 



286 American Citizenship 

3. Wliat interest should country people have in state 
government ? 

4. What interest should countrj^ people have in the national 
government ? 

5. What things should a rural survey include ? 

6. What is local option ? 

7. What are the advantages of combining school districts in 
the country ? 

8. What are some of the new ideas in educational work in the 
country ? 

9. Describe some possibilities of the rural schoolhouse as a 
social center. 

10. Why does recreation need to be organized to some extent in 
villages ? 

11. What are the public utilities of a village ? 

12. What is the value of improving the outward appearance of 
villages, and how may it be done ? 

13. What are the main causes of the backward conditions of 
rural communities ? 

14. What are the advantages to a community of good roads ? 

15. How can the rural voter help to improve his community ? 



Additional Reading 

Rural Social Responsibility : Ward, The Social Center, pp. 

302-323 ; Gillette, Constructive Rural Sociology, pp. 47-56. 
Advantages and Disadvantages op Rural Life : Gillette, pp. 

57-76. 
Improvement op Rural Production and Business : Gillette, 

pp. 77-109. 
Improvement in Means op Communication and Transportation : 

GiUette, pp. 110-122. 
Rural Health and Sanitation : Gillette, pp. 147-167. 
Making Farm Life Attractive : Gillette, pp. 168-183. 
The Socialization of Country Life : Gillette, pp. 184-263. 
Rural Charity and Correction : Gillette, pp. 264-279. 
Rural Social Surveys : Gillette, pp. 281-292. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC OPINION 

I. How the government directly affects public opinion. 

1. Citizens' associations and government officers. 

2. The budget exhibit in cities. 

3. Government reports to the citizens. 

4. Complaint bureaus. 

5. The school as a molder of public opinion. 

6. Civics in the schools and public opinion. 

7. How private societies teach the government officers. 

8. The public library and public opinion. 

9. The education of citizens in campaigns. 

II. Private agencies which create public sentiment. 

1. Public opinion made up of individual opinions. 

2. Telling the truth in newspapers. 

3. Newspapers influenced by their advertising. 

4. Associations which help to educate the public. 

5. "Manufacturing" public opinion. 

6. Woman's part in government. 

7. Churches as civic centers. 



How the government directly affects public opinion. — The 
kind of work the government undertakes and the way in 
which it does its work depend, in the ordinary course of 
events, almost entirely upon public opinion ; that is, upon 
what the people think about political matters. If they do 
not think at all about public affairs, the taxes are likely 
to be wasted, the streets dirty, the roads unimproved, the 
gas poor in qu-ality, the schoolhouse badly ventilated and 
lighted. If they do think about matters of common 
interest and join with their neighbors in using the ballot 

287 



288 American Citizenship 

wisely and in bringing pressure to bear upon public author- 
ities they may help immensely in improving the world in 
which they live. 

Citizens' associations and government officers. — There was 
a time when it was thought that the citizen's duty ended 
when he cast his vote at the election, and eighteenth century 
statesmen resented the formation of clubs to influence 
public opinion as a meddlesome interference on the part 
of private persons. In our day all this has changed. At 
the present time the citizens, through special associations 
for child labor legislation, purification of milk supply, munici- 
pal improvements, prevention of waste in taxes, reform 
of police administration, and innumerable other purposes 
stir up sentiment about particular matters, invite the at- 
tention of public officers to desirable reforms, and cooper- 
ate with the public authorities in carrying out good work 
for the general welfare. In many city and state govern- 
ments, the officials welcome the cooperation of voters where 
it is not merely captious but genuinely helpful. At all 
events, officers cannot ignore the demands of large societies 
of private citizens, for often those societies employ experts 
who know as much or more about government than the public 
officers themselves. Thus it has come about that what the 
citizen does and thinks hetioeen elections is as important as 
what he does at elections. Government is a continuous 
affair, not a periodical spasm, and the citizens' interest and 
watchfulness must be continuous. 

The budget exhibit in cities. — City governments are 
recognizing this vital truth in many ways. One of the most 
striking has been the introduction of the budget exhibit 
designed to show in a picturesque manner the amount of 
money raised by taxation and the various purposes to which 
it is put. Charts, placards, photographs, models, and plans 
represent in a graphic form how much money goes for 
education, health work, police, and other branches of govern- 



The Government and Public Opinion 289 

ment, and also what kinds of work the several departments 
do. At such an exhi?jit departments asking for a larger 
appropriation show in what way they would spend the 
increase. Wherever a city establishes a budget exhibit, 
thousands of citizens, including school children, visit it, and 
thus come to take a more active interest in the affairs of the 
city government. In some cities, city planning exhibits 
and exhibits illustrating other branches of civic work are 
held to enlist the interest of citizens and enlighten them 
on affairs of high importance. 

Government reports to the citizens. — ■ For the Vjenefit of the 
public it has long been customary for government officers 
to issue reports showing the work of the chief departments. 
Too often these reports are dry and stupid documents con- 
taining tables of figures and ill-digested facts. Gradually 
the possible educative feature of such reports is being recog- 
nized, and not long ago the mayor of Cincinnati selected an 
editor of city documents whom he instructed to make the 
official reports both intelligible and interesting. Quite a 
number of cities now publish periodical journals containing 
information of a practical character about the conduct of 
city affairs. In 1913 New York City began the publication 
of an annual Yearbook describing the several branches of 
the government of the city, the powers and duties of each, 
and explaining what departments are responsible for particu- 
lar tasks. In some cities, the finance department issues a 
little book showing how much money is collected in taxes 
and for what purposes it is spent. Gradually public ofiicers 
are realizing that it is desirable to keep the pubfic in touch 
with all phases of municipal government. 

Complaint bureaus. — In order to bring the government 
into contact with private citizens, it is a growing custom to 
invite public officials to speak at mass meetings and explain 
their policies and answer questions concerning their conduct 
of public business. Some cities have organized a " complaint 
u 



290 American Citizenship 

bureau " at which any citizen who has a grievance against 
the city administration may lodge a complaint and obtain 
a hearing. Through this bureau city officers learn about 
many cases of neglect and wrongdoing which would have 
otherwise never come to their notice. If a gas main leaks, 
the water pressure is too low, the pavements are neglected, 
and ash cans are not emptied, the citizen can reach the proper 
authority by telephone. 

The school as a molder of public opinion. — The schools 
are becoming more and more centers of information on affairs 
of government. Maps of the city, township, and county 
now find their place among the maps of Greece and Rome. 
Students are encouraged to make surveys of their immediate 
neighborhood, often with a view of reporting to public authori- 
ties about conditions which need remedying. City reports 
and documents and papers begin to appear on the shelves 
beside the textbooks on history and science. A knowledge 
of the government as an active concern ^rom day to day is 
being spread among the people through a thousand channels. 

Civics in the schools and public opinion. — In fact, the 
schools may become real centers for the formation of public 
opinion on governmental affairs. The regular instruction 
in civics is now being supplemented by talks by local officers, 
county judges, mayors, street commissioners, aldermen, 
and other public servants, who explain the nature and duties 
of their respective offices. They do this not merely to satisfy 
the curiosity of the pupils, but to educate them and to interest 
them in municipal matters which affect them as present 
citizens and future voters. In some cities, students are given 
problems of government to work out, such as : Which streets 
are kept clean and which are neglected? Who is respon- 
sible for broken pavements? Where are street lights out 
which should be burning? Can the chemistry department 
of the high school find out whether the city water is pure or 
the milk furnished by the local dairymen up to the standard ? 



The Government and Public Opinion 291 

The schoolhouse should have over the door that new slogan 
- Good citizenship first/' and the prime requisite for good 
citizenship is knowledge of and interest in affairs of govern- 
ment. Good citizenship, like charity, may very well begin 

at home. ^ -d ur 

How private societies teach the government officers. — i'ublic 
authorities are constantly learning from private associations 
The chairman of a labor legislation committee will be invited 
to help in the drafting of a labor law. A useful undertaking 
by a private organization is sometimes taken over bodily by 
the public authorities. For example, a few years ago a 
private society was founded in New York City to supply 
pure milk at a reasonable price from several stations scattered 
throughout the poorer districts. This work was found to be 
so excellent, that the city government assumed the man- 
agement of the stations and provided the funds from the 

public treasury. 

The public library and public opinion. — Pubhc libraries 
are agencies for bringing the government and the people 
together. A few cities, Chicago, for instance, have estab- 
lished civic reading rooms in which are placed reports and 
documents containing information on the work of the city 
government and books deaUng with problems which af- 
fect the citizen. In some cities, lectures are given m the 
library building by city officers and experts in municipal 
affairs; auditors are permitted to ask questions; and lists 
of books and pamphlets are distributed for the purpose of 
encouraging citizens to study more carefully the work of the 

government. 

The education of citizens in campaigns. — Finally the polit- 
ical campaigns are, or may be, employed to educate citizens 
on questions of pubhc policy. Of course, there are campaigns 
and campaigns. The old notion of a campaign was a sort 
of general debauch in which speakers villified one another, 
lies and false rumors about candidates were circulated, 



292 American Citizenship 

liquor was served free and in large quantities, brass bands 
were employed to arouse indifferent voters, monster parades 
and torchlight processions were organized to capture the 
fancy of the childish, and in short everything was done to 
confuse the citizens and leave the issues in a muddle. There 
is plenty of that sort of thing now; but undoubtedly it is 
rapidly declining in favor, and it will disappear when we have 
an educated citizenship. The newer type of campaign is one 
of education, in which issues and practical questions are 
discussed and candidates are expected to tell what they will 
do if elected rather than to recite the villainies of their 
opponents. It all depends upon the voters. If they prefer 
scandal to a reasonable consideration of the matters of govern- 
ment which influence their lives and work so deeply, cam- 
paigns of noise will hold the field ; but if they are alert, in- 
telligent, and interested in real government rather than in 
sham political warfare, they will demand that the campaign 
be confined to an honest consideration of what the govern- 
ment ought to do and how it may do what it undertakes. 

Private agencies which create public sentiment. — So far 
we have spoken principally of the official agencies for creat- 
ing public sentiment on civic matters. Most of the views 
which we have about government, however, are not derived 
from hearing public ofiicers speak or from reading official 
reports on the work of the government. On the contrary, 
our views are derived from countless sources unconnected 
with public institutions : from our associations at school, 
at work, at social affairs of one kind or another, from the 
newspapers, and from our daily intercourse with friends and 
neighbors. Not many of our opinions are based upon a 
painstaking study of hard facts. As Mr. Bryce says, " Every 
man believes and repeats certain phrases because he thinks 
that everybody else on his own side believes them; and of 
what each believes only a small part is his own original 
impression — the far larger part being the result of the com- 



The Government and Public Opinion 293 

mingling and mutual action and reaction of the impressions 
of a multitude of individuals, in which the element of pure 
personal conviction, based on individual thinking, is but 
small." 

Public opinion made up of individual opinions. — We are 
therefore all makers of public opinion, men, women, and 
children of a school age. When we see a person doing some- 
thing and we express to some one else our approval of his 
actions, we are helping to make opinion. By approving or 
disapproving something which the government does or neg- 
lects to do, we are helping to create public sentiment on that 
particular matter. By being indifferent to what goes on, we 
encourage others to assume the same attitude, and thus con- 
tribute to the general apathy which is the chief source of bad 
government. Chance remarks dropped at school, on the 
street corner, in the saloon, or at a social gathering all con- 
tribute to that great stream of opinion which determines 
the kind of government we are to have. School children who 
ask their parents or neighbors thought-provoking questions 
on civic matters help to arouse general interest. Women, 
whether they vote or not, add powerfully to the sentiments 
which influence the course of political events, by expressing 
their views publicly and privately on matters that concern 
them especially. They also frequently delay progress by 
their ignorance and indifference. 

Telling " the truth " in newspapers. — Naturally it is 
given to some persons more than others to influence public 
opinion — and perhaps newspaper editors and managers 
are more powerful in that regard than any other group. It 
is not only from the editorial columns, where editors give 
expression to their own personal views, however, that we 
gain our notions about current affairs. The news columns 
are far more influential. Of course, newspapers are sup- 
posed to tell ^' the truth " in the news columns ; but there are 
many ways of telling the truth. One may tell the truth about 



294 American Citizenship 

the matters concerning which he writes, but he may create 
entirely false impressions by omitting to tell of other truths. 
The choice of topics to which a newspaper gives first place in 
the news columns is fully as important as telling the truth 
itself. The headlines which a newspaper puts to truthful 
articles may be as misleading as bold lies. A newspaper 
may encourage the public to take an interest in murders and 
scandals by putting such stories on the first page, or it may ask 
the public to consider more important affairs first by placing 
them in greater prominence. For example, not long ago two 
society women were killed in an auto accident one night, and 
that same night fifty miners were killed by an explosion in a 
mine. A newspaper in the neighborhood gave the same space 
to both accidents, whereas the first was of slight public concern 
and the latter was of fundamental concern. The citizen in 
buying newspapers helps to decide what kind of papers 
shall be published, and so makes public opinion. 

Newspapers influenced hy their advertising. — The citizen 
must bear in mind also that newspapers and periodicals are no 
longer supported mainly by subscriptions, as was once the 
case, but that they are dependent primarily upon advertising 
or upon some group of persons willing to pay the bills in 
order to have " an organ " to voice their opinions. Publishers 
do not dare to offend too seriously their advertisers, and plenty 
of examples of news suppressed or colored to please adver- 
tisers are forthcoming. For instance, a few years ago an 
association of citizens held a meeting in support of a law then 
pending in the legislature requiring store owners to furnish 
seats for their employees when not engaged in waiting on 
customers. At the meeting competent speakers described 
the evil conditions prevailing in a number of great stores, 
mentioning them by name. The reporter wrote a true story 
of the meeting, but his city editor struck out the names of all 
the big store owners who advertised in the paper, and the 
readers of the paper gathered the impression that it was only 



The Government and Public Opinion 295 

a few obscure shops that kept their women employees stand- 
ing on their feet eight and ten hours a day. Again, not long 
ago a large store owner in a city was indicted and fined for 
fraudulent advertising and, notwithstanding the prominence 
of the party, the newspapers were discreetly silent, while 
they gave plenty of space to a wretched vagrant who had set 
fire to a small shop in the hope of securing some booty. 

Associations which help to educate the public. — Next to the 
newspapers in their influence on public opinion may be placed 
the various private associations which deal with matters of 
civic interest : playground associations, farmers' granges, 
legislative associations, municipal leagues, city clubs, women's 
societies, and the like. Some of the societies, like the Associa- 
tion for Labor Legislation, are formed to secure enlightened 
and humane laws on particular matters, or to see that laws are 
properly enforced when passed. Other associations, such as 
legislative committees, are designed to watch the state and 
local lawmaking bodies and to turn the light of publicity on 
measures about to be passed or defeated by the legislature or 
town council or county commissioners, as the case may be. 
The Citizen's Union of New York City, for example, main- 
tains at the capital of the state a trained expert who studies 
all bills introduced which affect the City, and reports to the 
Union on them. If any particular measures deserve support 
or condemnation, in the view of the Union, it organizes a 
large public meeting for the discussion of the matter, and 
thus helps to make public opinion. Indeed, associations for 
influencing public sentiment are among the striking features 
of current civic development. 

" Manufacturing " public opinion. — Like all other institu- 
tions, they may be used against public welfare, as well as for 
it. An instance of the way in which public opinion may be 
" manufactured " for private purposes was afforded not long 
ago in a great city where the extension of street car lines was 
under discussion. A street car company which was inter- 



296 American Citizenship 

ested in gaining a certain franchise selected a prominent 
politician and gave him about a quarter of a million dollars 
to " accelerate public sentiment." He organized a Citizen's 
Association in the portion of the city involved in the affair, 
and got up public meetings in favor of the company's 
demands, incidentally disbursing a large sum of money among 
influential persons. In the midst of so much clamor for his 
attention, it is not surprising that the citizen is sometimes 
bewildered and unable to form sound judgments. 

Woman's part in government. — In the organization of 
citizens' associations designed to focus public opinion on 
particular matters, the participation of women is a marked 
characteristic. Women are among the leaders in all be- 
neficent and humane enterprises which help to make our 
cities more beautiful places in which to live, and to improve 
the common lot of those who do the world's work. Following 
the example of the men, the newly enfranchised women of 
several of the western states have formed civic clubs for the 
investigation and discussion of public questions of every 
kind. In other states where women do not have the ballot, 
they are likewise active in civic affairs. A woman's municipal 
league in one of our large cities recently reported the follow- 
ing program : 

Campaign for pure milk, including rigid inspection. 

Encouragement of the men in the street cleaning service by 
the distribution of medals and money prizes. 

Erection of free ice-water fountains in the congested por- 
tions of the city. 

Campaign of education among housekeepers to improve 
sanitary conditions. 

Investigation of moving picture shows and cheap amuse- 
ment places. 

Financial aid and committee service for the investigation 
of amusement places of girls not reached by settlements and 
churches. 



The Government and Public Opinion 297 

Establishment and maintenance of playgrounds for 
certain overcrowded districts. 

Churches as civic centers. — In this general civic awaken- 
ing, churches are also taking part. Many of them have 
" social welfare services " charged with studying, discussing, 
and reporting on all manner of problems arising in our 
modern industrial life. Others open their assembly rooms for 
the consideration of all the questions of contemporary politics 
which pertain to the welfare of the people. Thus they seek 
to make real and useful those sentiments of humanity 
which are the finest products of religion. 

Questions 

1. What determines the character of a government and its 
work? 

2. What kinds of citizens' associations do we have ? 

3. What are some of the ways in which a government may in- 
form the citizens about its work ? 

4. What is a complaint bureau ? 

5. How may the school become a center of public opinion ? 

6. How may civics be made a vital subject of instruction ? 

7. How may private societies educate government officers ? 

8. What kinds of political campaigns may we have ? 

9. How does each one of us help to make public opinion ? 

10. How may newspapers distort the truth ? 

11. Under what influences are newspapers placed ? 

12. How may public opinion be "manufactured" ? 

13. What can you say of woman's part in government ? 

Additional Reading 

Public Opinion and its Causes : Bryce, The American Common- 
wealth, Vol. II, pp. 251-655. 

The Citizen and his Goveenment : Bruere, The New City Govern- 
ment, pp. 376-400. 

The Wokk of a Votebs' League : Ward, The Social Center, pp. 
43-68. 

Deliberation in Politics : Ward, pp. 19-42. 

Modern Methods of Publicity : Allen, Woman*s Part in Govern- 
ment, pp. 103-130. 



RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

CHAPTER I 

Name some of the things which each person can do for himself 
without receiving aid from any other person. 

What are some of the ways in which each must depend upon 
others for help ? 

Why is it better for the government to punish criminals and 
other offenders than for the wronged persons or families to avenge 
the injuries themselves ? 

Can you think of any cases in this country of families undertaking 
to avenge injuries done to them ? 

Mention some way in which the government of your town or city 
restrains your right to do as you please. 

Mention some way in which the government of your town or city 
gives you liberty or protection. 

Name some of the absolute monarchies of to-day and explain 
the nature of such governments. 

In what way has democracy changed the purpose of government ? 



CHAPTER II 

Where is each article on a well-supplied breakfast table produced ? 

How many different persons may take part in supplying a break- 
fast table ? 

What countries are mainly agricultural ? 

What countries are mainly industrial ? 

What are the grain producing areas of the United States ? Fruit 
growing areas ? Sugar areas ? Lumber regions ? 

From what regions do the raw products for clothing come ? 

Where are your clothes made ? 

Where are toys made ? 

Do children work in the factories which make any of these 
things ? 

How many different kinds of houses do you know about ? 

298 



Research Questions 299 

If you were managing a home how would you apportion the 
income : what proportion for rent ; for food ; for clothes ; for 
education ; and for recreation ? Would you spend money for other 
things ? 

In what ways does family life in the United States to-day differ 
from family life in Washington's day? 

What are the striking features of modern machine industry ? 

What persons besides the owners are interested in the way fac- 
tories are run ? 

What is the capital and labor question ? 

In what ways does modern business require action on the part 
of the government ? 

CHAPTER III 

Do you know any family where the mother is the breadwinner ? 
Why is she ? 

Do you know any little children who must work to help support 
the family ? What are their parents doing ? 

How old must a child be in your state before it is allowed to work 
in a factory ? 

Are there any laws in your state about newsboys, messenger 
boys, cash girls in stores ? Why ? 

What different kinds of families do you have in your community ? 

What do your parents do for you unaided ? 

What does the government do for you ? 

What is a family "budget" ? 

What keeps a family together? 

What breaks up families ? 



CHAPTER IV 

What are some of the ways in which public officers protect you 
against bodily harm ? 

How many policemen are employed in your city ? 

How many firemen ? Are they volunteers ? 

Why are streets kept clean ? 

Why are persons sometimes arrested for holding meetings ? 

What is a libel suit ? Have you ever heard of one ? 

Do you know how many persons were arrested in your com- 
munity last year ? How could you find out, if you did not know ? 



300 American Citizenship 

How many different religious sects are there in your community ? 

How many newspapers come into your home every week ? Do 
you take any papers which are not partisan in character ? 

What kind of men serve as jurors in your community ? 

Do you know of any petitions being circulated in your com- 
munity ? For what purposes ? 

If you had committed a wrong would you rather be tried by a 
judge or a jury ? Why ? 

Do you think every person should be allowed to say what he 
likes ? 

Do you believe that books and newspapers should be supervised 
by the government ? Why ? 

What are the dangers in allowing government officers to inter- 
fere with free press and speech and religion ? 



CHAPTER V 

What kinds of things may be made private property ? 

What is the difference between real property and personal prop- 
erty ? 

What is meant by "intangible" property? 

Why is some property public and other property private ? 

How is it decided whether a kind of property shall be public or 
private ? 

Do you know any property in your community that was once 
public but is now private ? 

Do you know any public property in your community that was 
formerly private property ? 

What property does your local community own ? 

What property does your state own ? 

Does your state or community conduct any business enterprises ? 

Is a law about fire prevention a defense of property or an inter- 
ference with a property right ? 

How does a law regulating child labor affect property rights ? 

Is the right to labor a property right ? 



CHAPTER VI 

Did your grandfather vote in this country ? 
Does your father vote ? If not, why not ? 
Does your mother vote ? If not, why not ? 



Research Questions 301 

What is meant by a property qualification on the right to vote? 
Did we ever have property qualifications in this country ? 
Have men always voted ? If not, how have they secured the 
right ? 

What is the difference between a "republic" and a "democracy" ? 
Who are "the people" in this country in a political sense? 
What is meant by "the rule of the people " ? 
What restrictions are there on the right to vote in your state ? 
What is an alien ? How may an alien secure the right to vote ? 
What is meant by "representative" government? 



CHAPTER VII 

What is tjiranny ? 

Can there be tyranny in a republic ? In a Democracy ? 

Why should we have respect for the law ? 

Should we have equal respect for all the laws ? 

When we do not like a law, what should we do about it ? 

Is there ever any excuse for breaking a law ? 

Is American government founded on the doctrine that the 
majority should always be allowed to have its way ? 

Do you think the majority is always right ? 

Is the majority right so often that there should be no check on it 
at all ? 

Are all laws equally important ? 

Should all laws be made and changed with the same ease and in 
the same manner ? 

Are there some matters so important that they should not be 
touched except by an extraordinary majority ? 

Are there any matters which the government should not be 
allowed to touch, even if it has a two-thirds majority in its favor ? 

How can the majority be checked in a democracy where majority 
rule is the custom ? 

Are you willing to trust all you have and hope for to the wisdom 
of a majority ? 

CHAPTER VIII 

Who is your congressman in the House of Representatives? 
What is his record on legislation ? 

Who are your Senators ? What are their records on important 
legislation ? 



302 American Citizenship 

How can a voter discover what a Senator or Representative has 
done or is doing in Congress ? 

Do you know what the Congressional Directory is? The Con- 
gressional Record ? 

Where and how was the Representative from your district 
nominated ? 

For what principles did he stand during the campaign ? 

Do you know on what committees your Representative and 
Senators are serving in Congress ? 

Do you know whether the Representatives in your state are 
fairly apportioned among the various districts? Can you find 
out if you do not know ? 

How many electoral votes does your state have ? 

Do you know any of the principles for which the present President 
of the United States stands ? 

Do you know how many delegates your state is entitled to in 
the national conventions of the various political parties? 

Do you know how they are chosen ? 

How can the individual voter get a voice in selecting his party 
candidates ? 

How is public opinion as to the character of the various candi- 
dates for nomination stirred up ? 

Who pays the expenses incurred in organizing campaigns for 
the nomination and election of Presidents ? 

What federal officers are there in your community ? 

Who appoints these officers ? 

How can any citizen secure a place in the federal government ? 

How can the citizen find out about vacant places in the federal 
government ? 

CHAPTER IX 

What is the difference between constitutional and statutory 
law? 

Do you have a copy of your state constitution? Where can 
copies be procured ? 

Make an analysis of your state constitution. 

How many members in the senate of your state ? In the lower 
house ? 

How often are they elected ? 

Are the districts of your state represented according to popula- 
tion ? If not, what districts are "over-represented" ? 



Research Questions 303 

What are the principal topics mentioned in the platforms of all 
the parties in your state at the last general election ? 

What limits does the constitution of your state lay on the 
legislature ? 

Are your governor and the majority in each house of the legis- 
lature of the same political party ? 

Is it desirable that they should be ? Why ? 

When did your governor call out the militia last? For what 
purpose ? 

What things did the governor recommend the legislature to do in 
his last message ? 

Would you rather trust the governor or your representatives in 
the legislature to decide on matters of public concern ? 

Is there a leading party manager or "boss" in your state? 

Do you know anything about the work of your representatives 
in the state legislature ? 

CHAPTER X 

What is the population of your city ? 

How many voters are there in it ? 

Does your city have a charter ? If so how was it made ? 

Does your city have home rule ? 

If you have commission government in your city, do you think 
it an improvement over the old form ? Why ? 

Who is your mayor? Did he stand for any definite principles 
during his campaign for election ? 

What is a nonpartisan election ? 

Do women vote for any officers in your city ? 

How are school officers chosen ? 

How much money does your city raise and spend each year ? 

Who makes the "budget" of your city? 

Has the citizen any influence on the government of the city at 
other than election times ? In what way ? 



CHAPTER XI 

Do the majority of people in your state live in the cities, towns, 
or country districts ? What proportion in each ? 
What are the chief officers of your county ? 
How are they elected ? 



304 American Citizenship 

What is the smallest district in yoiir county ? 

How many school districts in it ? 

How many towns or townships ? 

Who decides how much money the county shall spend and for 
what purposes ? 

Who are your town or township officers? How often are they 
chosen ? 

If you wanted a highway repaired, to whom would you go ? 

Where are the helpless poor of your town taken care of ? 

What local officers are under the supervision of state officers ? 

Do your local officers look with favor or disfavor upon super- 
vision by state officers ? 

What work does the state government do in your community ? 

Is the state or local work better done ? 



CHAPTER XII 

How many political parties are there in your state ? 

How do they rank in numbers ? 

What was in their platforms in the last campaign ? 

How does each party make nominations for the various state 
offices ? 

What is the name of the party committee in your district ? 

What are the various committees which each party has in your 
state ? 

How does the voter become a member of a party ? 

Who pays the bills of the party committees ? 

Do the party committees do any political work at other than 
election times ? 

Is it wise for a voter to stay in one party and try to bring it to 
his views as nearly as he can ? Or is it better to leave a party when 
the voter cannot agree with its principles entirely ? 

What do you think is the chief cause of the decline of old parties 
and the rise of new ? 

What kind of ballots are used in your community ? 

Where are the polling places fixed for election days ? 

Who can watch at elections ? 

Have you a local party manager or "boss" ? 

Are the saloons open on election days ? 



Research Questions 305 



CHAPTER XIII 

/ 

What is direct legislation ? 

Are any of the laws of your state made directly by the voters ? 

Do the voters of your state vote on any matters other than the 
election of officers ? 

How is the constitution of your state made and approved ? 

How is it amended ? 

Do you think the laws of your state would be very different if 
they were made by the voters rather than by the legislature ? 

Is the voter more able to vote on laws than to choose a wise 
person to represent himself in the legislature? 

Ought a majority of those voting on a law in a state having direct 
legislation be permitted to decide the matter? Why? 

Ought the majority required to approve a law be a majority of 
all the voters in the state ? Why ? 

Should only a majority of all those voting in the election at which 
the law is submitted be required ? Why ? 

What officers ought to be elective, and what appointive in your 
community ? 

In what way is direct legislation in conflict with the separation 
of powers ? 



CHAPTER XIV 

Why do the size and extent of the industries of the country affect 
the work which the federal government has to do ? 

Can you think of any matters which are now left to the control 
of the state governments which should be given into the hands of 
the federal government ? 

Do you believe in a "strict" or a "liberal" interpretation of the 
Constitution? Why? 

What work does the federal government do in your community ? 

Is there any business done in your community which is "inter- 
state " in character ? Why? 

Why can we not leave the detection of adulterated foods to the 
consumer ? 

What is the reason for so much adulteration in modern manu- 
facturing ? 

When the government fixes the rates of railways what matters 
should it take into account in arriving at a "fair" rate?. 

X 



3o6 American Citizenship 

Do y<»N Ini.vn n,iiy iiiddHlrinH in .your <'orinriiitii( y wliic.h ar« pro- 
U)('\(^t\ l»y IIm' inni'i"^ u Wlm,!, M,rn Muiy ? 

( Uu\ you iinjiin iMiy n.rl.i(tln \,\\n,\, in iiUM'oaHnd or (l<i('.rna,HO(l in pritMt 
\ty (lin rn.iHiiij-f or loworin^^ of Mm InrW'i' ? 

HIioiiM Mm hidoral j^ovornriu^nt employ troopM to protor?!, Am«ri- 
cnu iiivt^Hl.orM and |>roniotnrH who |.m) inl.o oMicr conutj'ioH to <uiKU|i{;o 
in IniiiiiinM!! 7 Why 'i 

(';iii \<»ii nanio any nrtichiH rnn.chi hy |;(roat truHtn '/* 

Do you think (M>rnp(ttition in huninoHM iH a ^^ood thiti).^? 

Do you thiidi tho Tnthwal fMiv^^rnniont coidd own and nuitni^n tho 
raiIwM,yH HucMMiHHrully V 

Should th<) pM<r(Mi| poHt ]h<i oxtiMuhtd ho n.M to iiK^liidc) all, or prauii- 
rally idl, ol' tim oxproHH lniHin«tHH ? 

Wm,h it n. rnintako for tho nidoral |,^ov<irnnnint to |.^ivo away tlio 
|)ul>lic. landw ? 

Do you thiidv (xirtniinnnt intornationnJ ponco iH dnHirahIo and 
poHHihIo I* 

Whikt do y(Hi thinl< in tlm J'aintHt kiinl of tax for tho fodoral 
((ovrrnint^nt to uMn in raiMiii)/ rovonuoH? 



(^IIAI'TKU, XV 

Upon wliai ooiiditioiiH Hhould aliitriH l)o allowiul to voto? 

Can you think of n.ny tic\,H now puniHliahU^ by tho lawH of your 
Htato which ou^^ht not to \u) |>uniMhn.hlo ? 

Do you i»oli(wo that tlm drath Honton(H) Hhould ovor ho impoHod ? 

Do you think that tho ntato Hhould rducato liLwyorn iMid dooiors 
at puhlic. oxpouHo 'i* Why'i* 

Do(fH i\ui Htato luuilth olliiMtr nvor <'oinn into your r.onununity ? 

Do you think that all undoHc^rvod povorty <M>uld ho pruvontod ? 

Wlm.t in uinh^Horvod povorty ? 

Do you think thni K(>vornin<wit pniiHioiiH nhould ho paid to n,\\ 
a^<wj porHoiiH uiuiJth^ t<» support tlmnisolvoH? 

lin,vo you n.ny tnuh^ unions in your (M>tnniunity ? l*'or what 
j)riri(MploH do timy ntand ? 

Do you havo a Htato railway coniniiHHion or hoard? Can it fix 
froi^^ht and |>M,HHonf,i:<>r rntoH ? 

Why ar-n (MunhituitifHiM in huHinoHH ror-in<Ml ? 

Ilav<» you any Htn.to lii^'fliwayH in your roinniunity ? 

Mow woid<l you ^o ahout HoouriiiK Htato aid in huildinK a lii^hway 
in your connnunity ? 



Research Questions 307 

DooH your hIjiI/O own any foninl, or iriinoral latKJH or any wator 
|)ow<)r ? 

How iniicli rnonoy iM rai.s<i<l in your sl/al-o hy taxoH oacJi yoar? 

l>o you know how Wu) rnonoy ho raiwxl \h api)ortion<)(l for varioiiH 
ohjoctH '{ 

Doom your slalo liavo an incorno or inFiori1,an<'.o tax? 

WfiifJi iH rnoni jiiHt : an incoino or an ififioritanco tax? Why? 



CHAPTER XVI 

Flow many c-it/ios of rnoro Ui.mji '2r>,()(H) in[ial)il,.'i,n1,;i ;i.ni in your 
hU1,o? 

Whal, |)ro[>orl/ion of iJio poophi of your hI/;i,I;() livo in pla<'-o.s having; 
rnoro l,Ii;i,n 'ifiOO inlial)i(-anl;H ? 

();\,u you rnako a rtiaf) of your *ril,y Khowin^?' Iho roRi'donl/ial rliH- 
f,ri(;(;.s of Mm wnll-l,o-(h), iJici workinj^-cJaHH (liHl/ri(;(/H, Uio induHJ/rial 
con torn, and tho HlurnH? 

How many HalooriH in your <^if,y ? Can you malco a rrni,p hIiowImk 
wlioro Ujoy JU'o lofjitod ? 

What/ in iho (I(;;i,lJi r;i,l,() of your cJty ? I low (Io<!H il, (^omparo wiUi 
Uial/ in ol/hor caWoh ? 

llaH your <;il/y a [>uhli<; markol [)lac() ? 

How many polic/cunon in your city? 

Wliat prof>ortion of tho anniial rovc/nuo of your city \h Hfutni for 
ihi) \)i)\u'A) S(m-A)'l l<\>r ()<] negation ? For hoalth work? 

Whoro aro tho f)olir;o courtH in your (;ity ? Havo you ovor bcon 
in ono? 

DooH your city hav<5 a firf) provrmtion biinau ? 

iUm you mako a ma() Hfiowin/^ tho woll-kopt ami tho noyhxitod 
HtroctH in your cJty ? 

Doom your c.ity own uny of tlio i)ublic, ti(,ili(,i(»H ? 

Aro tho wator ami f^aH ratcH in your <'-ity hij.'^hcr or lowor than in 
noi/^lihorinj': cjtic,;; ? 

Wfiat c,orri[)arii<;H hohl franclilHOH in your '-il-y ? 

Oo you know ariytfiinj.': afiout tfio buildinp: n!j.^uhiJ>if)nH in your 
city ? 

What does your cj'ty do in tlio way of rurni:;hini' ror;rcation for 
the fjcof)lc ? 

Ul>f>n whal kimlB of taxca does your city despond principally for 
its income ? 



3o8 American Citizenship 

CHAPTER XVII 

Have you a map of your town or township and county ? 

What railways and state highways run through your township ? 

How much money do you suppose the citizens of your township 
spend each year in freight and express charges and in railway travel ? 

Are the railway crossings in your neighborhood safe? If not, 
why not ? 

Has your township or county built any roads with the help of 
the state government ? 

How many saloons in your township and county? Have you 
local option on the liquor question ? 

How many schools in your township and county? Are many 
in your neighborhood deprived of high school education on account 
of poverty ? 

Do the schools of your neighborhood teach practical subjects 
which will help the pupils in their life work ? 

Do you have a local library? Has your state a circulating 
library system ? 

Has your village an "improvement society" ? 

Is there any regular provision for play in your village, or is it left 
to chance ? 

Is your village jail fit to shut prisoners up in ? 

Which is better : outdoor relief for the poor or the poorhouse ? 

Does your local health officer make the citizens clean up their 
premises ? 

How much money does your county spend each year? How 
much does your township or village spend ? 

If you had the spending of this money, would you distribute it in 
a different manner ? 

Are many of the farms in your neighborhood mortgaged ? What 
rate of interest must the farmers pay ? 

Are there farmers' institutes and granges in your community? 
What kind of work do they do ? 



CHAPTER XVIII 

How can you find out what officers are responsible for any 
particular work in your community? 

Attend some public meetings at which government officers speak, 
and report their speeches. 



Research Questions 309 

Inquire into the nature of the instruction in civics in neighbor- 
ing schools. 

Describe a recent political campaign in your community. 

What citizens' associations do you have in your community ? 

Is there any way in your state for the citizens to discover what 
goes on in the legislature ? In the city council ? 

Compare the accounts of the same affair in two different news- 
papers, studying the headlines, the points emphasized, and the 
impression given as a whole. 

Have you any women's societies in your community? What 
work do they undertake ? 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Allen, W. H., Woman's Part in Government. Dodd, Mead & Co., 
New York, 1911. 

Beard, C. A., American Government and Politics. Macmillan Co., 
New York, 1914. New and revised edition. (Cited as Ameri- 
can Government.) 

Beard, C. A., American City Government. The Century Co., 1912. 

Beard, C. A., Readings in American Government and Politics. 
Macmillan Co., New York, 1913. New and revised edition. 
(Cited as Readings.) 

Bruerb, Henry, The New City Government. D. Appleton & Co., 
1912. 

Bryce, James, The American Commonwealth, 2 vols. Macmillan 
Co. New edition, 1910. 

BuRCH, H. R., and Nearing, Scott, Elements of Economics. Mac- 
millan Co., 1912. 

Gillette, John M., Constructive Rural Sociology. Sturgis & Wal- 
ton Co., 1913. 

Haskin, Frederic J., The American Government. J. J. Little & 
Ives Co., 1911. 

Jones, Chester L., Readings in Parties and Elections in the United 
States. Macmillan Co., 1912. 

Kaye, Percy L., Readings in Civil Government. Century Co., 
New York, 1910. 

Kelley, Florence, Some Ethical Gains through Legislation. 
Macmillan Co. 

Reinsch, Paul S., Readings on American State Government. Ginn 
& Co., 1911. 

Seager, H. R., a Social Program — Industrial Insurance. Mac- 
millan Co., 1910. 

Ward, Edward J., The Social Center. D. Appleton & Co., 1913. 



3" 



APPENDIX 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, 
promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United 
States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

Section i. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Section 2. i. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem- 
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age 
of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall 
be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes 1 shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free 
persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding 
Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons.! The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the 
United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner 
as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed 
one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one represent- 
ative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire 
shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Provi- 
dence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six. New Jersey four, Penn- 
sylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five, 
South Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

1 Partly superseded by the 14th Amendment. (See below, p. 324.) 

313 



3^4 Appendix 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the 
executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such va- 
cancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
officers ; and shall have the sole power of Impeachment. 

Section 3. i. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years ; 
and each senator shall have one vote. ^ 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The 
seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and of the 
third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen 
every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, 
during the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may 
make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which 
shall then fill such vacancies.^ 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be 
chosen. 

4. The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the 
office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. "When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall preside : and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the mem- 
bers present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust or profit under the United States : but the party convicted shall never- 
theless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, 
according to law. 

Section 4. i . The times, places, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legisla- 
ture thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such 
regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet- 
ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint 
a different day. 

Section 5. i. Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns 

1 See the 17th Amendment, below, p. 325. 



Appendix 315 

and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such 
manaer, and under such penalties as each House may provide. 

2. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel 
a member. 

3. Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require 
secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House on any 
question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered on the 
journal. 

4. Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than 
that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. i. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury 
of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the 
session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the 
same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be ques- 
tioned in any other place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been 
increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the 
United States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in 
office. 

Section 7. i. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House 
of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of 
the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, 
with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall 
enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If 
after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which 
it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, 
it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall 
be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and 
against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in 
like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment 
prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. 



3i6 Appendix 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of ad- 
journment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and be- 
fore the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved 
by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Represen- 
tatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Section 8. i. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, 
duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common de- 
fense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and 
excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
rent coin of the United States; 

7. To establish post offices and post roads; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for lim- 
ited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writ- 
ings and discoveries; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offenses against the law of nations; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water; 

1 2. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces; 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United 
States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and 
the authority of training the mihtia according to the discipline prescribed by 
Congress; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such dis- 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the 
United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the 
consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erec- 
tion of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and 



Appendix 3^7 

1 8. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitu- 
tion in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer 
thereof. 

Section 9. i. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the . 
States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the 
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or 
duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each 
person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.i 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one State over those of another : nor shall vessels bound to, or 
from, one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of ap- 
propriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts 
and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. 

8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no person 
holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of 
the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind 
whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Section 10. i. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or con- 
federation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of 
credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obli- 
gation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all duties and imposts 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of ton- 
nage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement 
or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, 
unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section i. i. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 

^ See the i6th Amendment, below, p. 335. 



3^^ Appendix 

years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected, as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and repre- 
sentatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress : but no senator 
or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the 
United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

1 The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two 
persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with 
themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of 
the number of votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed 
to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in the 
presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, 
and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number 
of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole 
number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such 
majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representa- 
tives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no 
person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said House 
shall in like manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the 
votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one 
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from 
two thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to 
a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having 
the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But 
if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall 
choose from them by ballot the Vice President.^ 

3. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same through- 
out the United States. 

4. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the 
office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall 
not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

5. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, res- 
ignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the 
same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law pro- 
vide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the 
President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected. 

1 The following paragraph was in force only from 1788 to 1803. 

2 Superseded by the 12th Amendment. (See p. 323.) 



Appendix 3^9 

6. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
tion, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for 
which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period 
any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

7. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
oath or affirmation : — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully 
execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of 
my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Section 2. i. The President shall be commander in chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, 
in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon 
any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have 
power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, 
except in cases of impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur; and he 
shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall 
appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not 
herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law : but the 
Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they 
think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of 
departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at 
the end of their next session. 

Section 3. i. He shall from time to time give to the Congress informa- 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary 
occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree- 
ment between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn 
them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and 
other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, 
and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

Section 4. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction 
of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III 

Section i. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in 
one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time 
to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, 
receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during 
their continuance in office. 



320 Appendix 

Section 2. i. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; — to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; — to all cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; — to controversies to which the United 
States shall be a party; — to controversies between two or more States; — be- 
tween a State and citizens of another State; ^ — between citizens of different 
States, — between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, 
citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have orig- 
inal jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court 
shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and to fact, with such excep- 
tions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; 
and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been 
committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at 
such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

Section 3. i. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony 
of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but 
no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except 
during the Hfe of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV 

Section i. FuU faith and credit shall be given in each State to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the 
Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records 
and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section 2. i. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall on demand of the 
executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to be re- 
moved to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim 
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Section 3. i. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 

1 See the nth Amendment, p. 323. 



Appendix 321 

of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more 
States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States 
concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against inva- 
sion; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the 
legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessar>', 
shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and pur- 
poses, as part of this Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three 
fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Pro- 
vided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand 
eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses 
in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its consent, 
shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as vahd against the United States under this Con- 
stitution, as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; 
and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Consti- 
tution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of 
the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the 
United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation 
to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a 
quahfication to any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the 
establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 
Y 



322 Appendix 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present the 
seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of 
America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our 
names, 

Go: Washington — 

Presidt. and Deputy from Virginia 



Articles in addition to, and amendment of, the Constitution of the United 
States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the legislatures of 
the several States pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution. 

ARTICLE II 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro- 
hibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State 
the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the 
consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by 
law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and 
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and 
no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirma- 
tion, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases 
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in 
time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same 
offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in 
any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, 

1 The first ten Amendments adopted in 1791. 



Appendix 323 

or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private property be taken 
for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy 
and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the 
crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously as- 
certained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusa- 
tion ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory 
process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty 
dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury 
shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than accord- 
ing to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel 
and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX 

The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be con- 
strued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor pro- 
hibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
people. 

ARTICLE XII 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend 
to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any 
foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII 2 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for 
President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabit- 
ant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the 
person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots, the person voted for as 
Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as 

1 Adopted in 1798. 2 Adopted in 1804. 



324 Appendix 

President and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of 
votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to 
the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of 
the Senate ; — The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then 
be counted ; — The person having the greatest number of votes for President, 
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of 
electors appointed ; and if no person have such majority, then from the per- 
sons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted 
for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken 
by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the 
House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of 
choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next follow- 
ing, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in the case of the death 
or other constitutional disability of the President. The person having the 
greatest number of votes as Vice President shall be the Vice President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no 
person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice President ; a quorum for the purpose shall con- 
sist of two thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole 
number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineli- 
gible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the 
United States. 

ARTICLE Xnii 

Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as pun- 
ishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con-victed, shall exist 
within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legisla- 
tion. 

ARTICLE XIV 2 

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the 
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein 
they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the 
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State 
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor 
deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according 
to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each 
State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election 
for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, 

1 Adopted in 1865. ' 2 Adopted in 1868. 



Appendix 3^5 

representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or 
the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants 
of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the 
basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the 
number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
twenty-one years of age in such State. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of 
President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a 
member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to sup- 
port the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or 
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. 
But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in 
suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the 
United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred 
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for 
the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations and claims 
shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XVI 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by ap- 
propriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 2 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from 
whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, 
and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 3 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from 
each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years ; and each senator shall 

1 Adopted in 1870. 

2 Passed July, 1909 ; proclaimed February 25, 1913. 

8 Passed May, 1912, in lieu of paragraph one, Section 3, Article I, of the Con- 
stitution and so much of paragraph two of the same Section as relates to the filling 
of vacancies ; proclaimed May 31, 1913. 



326 Appendix 



have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requi- 
site for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, 
the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies : Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the ex- 
ecutive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the 
vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term 
of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution. 



INDEX 



Accidents: industrial, 23. 

Agriculture : federal government and, 
192 ; irrigation works, 193 ; col- 
leges, 193 ; Department of, 194 ; 
agricultural credit, 285. 

Alaska : 215. 

Amendments: federal, 97 ; state, 122. 

Arbitration : international treaties, 
208. 

Bail : definition and purpose, 49. 

Ballots : secret, 151 ; Australian, 
152 ; Massachusetts, 152 ; non- 
partisan, 152 ; short, 165. 

Budget : national, 214 ; city, 267. 

Capital : and labor, 18. 

Children : in the family, 22 ; de- 
pendent, 28 ; crime and, 28 ; rights 
of, 52 ; in the courts, 52. 

Cities: home rule for, 130; councU 
and its powers, 131 ; description, 
243 ; important elements in life of, 
245 ; government of, 130 ff . ; 
functions, 242 ff. ; planning of, 
265 ; program for, 268. 

Citizens : contrasted with subjects, 
4 ; influence on politics, 149 ; how 
affected by federal government, 
179 ff. ; how affected by state gov- 
ernment, 220; and voting privi- 
lege, 221. See Rights. 

Civics : purpose of teaching, 7 ; hu- 
man interest, 20. 
Civil service : federal, 110; in cities, 

133. 
Clothing: adulteration, 16; frauds 

in, 182. 
Commission government : for cities, 

136 ; city manager plan, 137. 
Community : an enlarged family, 23 ; 
influence on family, 23. 



Competition: theory of, 187; how 
far good, 191 ; of foreign labor, 196. 

Congress : a representative body, 97 ; 
the two Houses, 98 ff. ; meetings, 
103 ; how it makes laws, 103 ; 
powers, 105 ; special sessions, 113 ; 
Cabinet and, 115, 116 ; courts and, 
117. 

Constitution : the federal, framing of, 
84 ; parts of, 96 ; amendment of, 
97 ; the state, 122. 

Constitutional law : nature of, 122. 

Council : city, 131. 

County : government, 141 ; officers, 
141. 

Courts : procedure in trials, 48 ; 
children's, 52 ; federal, 117; state, 
128; city, 133; police, 134; 
special, 134 ; rural, 143 ; women 
in, 249. 

Crimes : definition, 222 ; penalties, 
222 ; prevention of, 223 ; notions 
about punishment, 224; proper 
treatment for criminals, 250 ; due 
process of law, 48 ; plans for 
reformation of criminals, 250; in 
the country, 281. 

Democracy : definition, 69 ; con- 
fused ideas about, 69 ; changes in 
ideas about, 69 ; direct, in cities, 
138 ; use of term to-day, 161 ; 
growth of direct, 161 ; devices for 
direct, 163 ff. ; opinions on direct, 
166 ff. 

Direct primary : in selection of 
officers, 107, 124, 125, 148; idea 
behind, 165. 

Diseases : effect on family, 24 ; fed- 
eral government and, 202, 203 ; 
state prevention of, 227. See 
Health. 



327 



328 



Index 



District of Columbia : its govern- 
ment, 215. 

Divorce : grounds for, 31 ; attitude of 
states on, 222. 

Education : power of state over, 225 
university extension work, 225 
special colleges and courses, 226 
training teachers, 226 ; in the city, 
263 ; newer features, 263 ; and 
government work, 264 ; in the 
country, 276. 

Elections : of national representa- 
tives, 100 ff. ; presidential, 108 ; 
of state representatives, 124 ; of 
governor, 125 ; national parties in 
local, 135 ; non-partisan, 135 ; the 
primary, 148 ; honest, 149 ff . ; 
secret, 151 ; polls, 154 ; publicity 
in, 157. 

Factories : the system, 15 ; con- 
sumer and, 15 ; owner and, 16, 
17 ; laborer and, 17 ; in the home, 
29. 

Family : in olden times, 11; a com- 
munity concern, 22-23 ; children 
and, 22 ; value of, 22 ; outside 
conditions and, 23 ; wages and, 
24 ; types, 25 ff. ; government and, 
30 ff. ; right basis for, 32. 

Fathers : labor and parenthood, 26 ; 
"little," 27; position in family, 
31, 32. 

Fire : the city department, 251 ; pre- 
vention, 251 ; use of fire laws to 
clean up villages, 283. 

Food : connection with transporta- 
tion, 14 ; adulteration, 14 ; quan- 
tity produced, 15 ; foreign markets, 
15 ; federal laws, and inspection, 
181 ; city governments and, 258 ; 
milk, 258 ; markets, 259 ; ice, 259. 

Franchises : city, 254 ; regulation of, 
255 ; municipal ownership, 255. 

Freedom: of speech, 41 ff. ; of press, 
41 ff. ; of religion, 44 ff. ; of con- 
tract, 60. 

Government : origin of word, 4 ; 
viewed as a mystery, 4 ; necessity 
for, 5-6 ; purpose of , 6 ; nature of. 



7 ; changes in, 10 ; homes and, 30 ; 
religion and, 45; property and, 
54 ff . ; as a machine, 80 ; as a human 
instrument, 82 ; federal, 83 ff., 173 
ff. ; state, 121 ff., 220 ff. ; city, 130 
ff., 242 ff. ; rural, 140 ff., 271 ff . ; 
division of work between federal 
and state, 176 ff. 
Governor : comparison with presi- 
dent, 126 ; his legislative duties, 
127 ; his executive duties, 127. 

Habeas corpus: definition and value 
of, 47. 

Hawaii: 215. 

Health : of national interest, 202 ; 
public health service, 203 ; state 
government and, 227 ; prevention 
of disease, 227 ; city government 
and, 256 ; attacking disease di- 
rectly, 259 ; outline of work for 
cities, 260 ; care of, in villages, 284. 

Home : kinds, 25 ; fathers and, 25 ; 
mothers and, 26 ff . ; labor in, 29 ; 
of negroes, 29 ; of poor whites in 
mountains, 30 ; land grants to 
farmers, 192 ; need of attention to, 
by city government, 247 ; housing 
in cities, 261 ; in country, 285. 

Hours of labor : relation to home life, 
26. 

Housing : see Shelter and Homes. 

Immigrants : government and, 17 ; 
tariff and, 186 ; federal control of, 
197 ; inspection of, 202. 

Indeterminate sentences : descrip- 
tion of practices, 51, 52. 

Industry : changes in, 10 ff . ; do- 
mestic, 10; industrial revolution, 
13; foreign labor in, 17 ; family and, 
23 ; in home, 29 ; how national in 
character, 177 ; why hard for 
states to regulate, 177; foreign 
trade, 187; trusts, 187 ff. ; in- 
dustrial commissions, 233. 

Inequality : before the law, 50 ; be- 
tween men and women, 51. 

Initiative : in cities, 132, 138 ; in 
states, 133, 167. 

Intolerance : effect on civil liberties, 
42, 43. 



Index 



329 



Judges : in juvenile courts, 52 ; power, 

86 ; position in government, 89 ; 

criticism of, 92; federal, 117 ff. ; 

state, 128; city, 134; women as, 

249. 
Judiciary: see Courts and Judges. 
Jury : kinds, 48 ; spirit and purpose, 

49 ; trial of children before, 52. 
Juvenile courts : description, 52. 

Labor: division of, 13-14; factory 
system and, 17; foreign, 17, 184, 
196; and capital, 18; property 
rights in, 60 ff. ; Department of, 
190; federal laws on, 195; gov- 
ernment as an employer, 197 ; 
unemployment, 196, 231; work- 
men's compensation, 229 ; social 
insurance, 230 ; poverty and, 231 ; 
legislation on, 233. 

Legislature: the two houses, 123 ; how 
it makes laws, 125 ; powers, 125. 

Liberty: civil, need of, 35; types, 
35 ; history and meaning of, 36 ff . ; 
American theory, 37 ; principles of, 

37 ; Congress and, 38 ; States and, 

38 ; personal security, 39 ; personal, 
40 ; kinds of, 41 if. ; tolerance and, 
42 ; limits upon, 43 ; children and, 
52 ; new spirit in, 52. 

Liberty : political, history, 65 ; argu- 
ments for and against, 66, 67 ; de- 
mocracy and, 69 ; of negroes, 70 ; 
of women, 71 ; citizenship and, 72. 



Majority: dangers from, 85; its 
power, 93 ; limitations on, 168. 

Marriage : the state and, 221 ; seri- 
ous aspects of, 221. 

Martial law : free speech and, 42. 

Mayor: duties of, 132. See Com- 
mission Government. 

Men : as fathers, 26 ; as husbands, 31. 

Money : in elections, 155 ; in cam- 
paigns, 156 ; gold and silver coin- 
age, 209 ; free silver, 210 ; paper, 
211; bank notes, 212; banking 
systems and laws, 212. 

Mothers: labor and parenthood, 
27 ff. ; "little," 27; position in 
family, 31, 32. 
Municipal ownership : 255. 



National defense : character, 204 ff. 
Natural resources : extent, 199-200 ; 

proposals for dealing with, 199; 

of the states, 238. 
Negroes : homes of, 29. 
Noise : prevention of undue, 253. 



Panama Canal: 201. 

Parole : purpose, 49 ; some practices, 

51. 
Parties: separation of powers and, 
88; national parties in local elec- 
tions, 135 ; how formed, 146 ; issues 
and their history, 146 ; RepubKcan, 
147; Democratic, 147; Populist, 
147; Socialist, 147, 191; Progres- 
sive, 147 ; third, 147 ; organiza- 
tion and methods, 148; how fi- 
nanced, 156. 
Peace: see War. 
Pensions: for soldiers, 206; for 

mothers, 230. 
People: definition, 69; vagueness 

of term, 168. 
Petition: right to, 44; history and 

value of, 44. 
Philippines, 215. 

PoHce : free speech and, 42 ; the city 
problem of, 248; the force, 248; 
women as, 249. 
Porto Rico : 215. 
Post office: history and services 

rendered by, 198. 
Poverty: state relief, 228; preven- 
tion of, 228; specific causes of, 
229 ; war on, 229 ; in the city, 267 ; 
in the country, 282. 
President : how chosen, 106 ff . ; 
powers, 110 ff. ; his message, 112; 
the veto, 112 ; and war, 206. 
Press : freedom of, 41 ; intolerance 

of, 43 ; limits upon, 43. 
Property: how safeguarded by gov- 
ernment, 54, 55 ; changes in rights 
over, 57 ; property rights in slaves, 
57 ; married women and, 57 ; 
public, 58; ownership by govern- 
ment, 59 ; limitations on use, 59 ; 
property rights and labor, 60 ; 
general tendencies, 62; qualifica- 
tion for voting, 66 ff. ; municipal 
ownership of utilities, 255. 



330 



Index 



Public opinion : publicity schemes, 
157, 166 ; relation to government, 
287 jff. ; schools and, 290 ; libraries 
and, 291 ; private agencies and, 
292 ; relation of women to, 296. 

Public works : federal, 200 f¥. ; 
Panama Canal, 201 ; highways, 
201, 237; how states help with 
roads, 237, 275 ; city streets, 253 ; 
utilities, 253 ; parks, 256 ; vil- 
lage utilities, 281. 

Railways : interstate commerce, 180 ; 
rates, 180 ; state regulation of, 
234 ; Wisconsin control of, 235. 

Recall : in cities, 138, 164 ; of judi- 
cial decisions, 164. 

Reciprocity : theory of, 186. 

Recreation : relation to home life, 
24 ; need of and provision for, in 
cities, 261-262 ; in the country, 
279. 

Referendum : in cities, 132, 138 ; in 
states, 133, 167. 

Religion : freedom of, 44 ; early 
persecutions, 45 ; federal govern- 
ment and, 45 ; states and, 46 ; 
relation to politics, 46. 

Representatives: see Congress. 

Republic : definition, 69 ; democracy 
and, 69 ; representative govern- 
ment and, 69 ; character of gov- 
ernment first set up, 161. 

Rights : of women, 31, 71 ; of par- 
ents, 31 ; civil, 35 ff. ; of petition, 
44 ; of children, 52 ; property, 
54 ff. ; of labor, 61 ; political, 65. 

Saloons: local option, 276 ; prohibi- 
tion, 276. 

Sanitation : factory owners and, 16 ; 
housing laws and, 261 ; the problem 
in the country, 284. See Health. 

Senate : see Congress and Legislature. 

Separation of powers : origin, 84 ; ad- 
vantages and disadvantages, 85 ff. 

Shelter : ownership of homes, 19 ; 
public regulation, 19 ; rural homes, 
19 ; wages and, 24 ; in cities, 261. 



Slander: definition, 43. 

Speech : freedom of, 41 ; how inter- 
fered with, 41 ; police permits and, 
42 ; martial law and, 42 ; intoler- 
ance and, 42 ; value of, 43 ; limits 
of, 43. 

Suffrage: history, 71. <See Votes. 

Surveys : for cities, 247 ; for country, 
274. 

Tariff : theory of protective, 183 ; 
foreign labor and, 184 ; practical 
aspects, 185 ; as a compromise, 
185 ; tariff commission, 186 ; reci- 
procity, 186. 

Taxation: federal, 213 ; kinds, 214 ; 
state, 239 ; city, 266. 

Territories : government of, 215, 216. 

Trades unions : government and, 61 ; 
the law and, 232. 

Trusts : the question, 187 ; origin, 
188 ; methods, 189 ; federal law 
against, 189 ; present theories, 
190 ff. ; state laws about, 235-236. 

Unemployment : provision of work, 
231. 

Voters : registration of, 150 ; in- 
crease in power of, 162, 167. 

Votes : for men, 65 ff . ; for negroes, 
70 ; for women, 71 ; present re- 
strictions on, 72 ; foreign, 73, 

Wages : factory system and, 16-17 ; 
wages system, 18 ; influence on 
family life, 24 ; free speech and, 
41 ; relation to poverty, 229 ; the 
minimum, 231. 

War : cost, 207 ; war against war, 
207; responsibility of President, 
208. 

Watchers at elections: purpose of, 
154 ; women as, 155. 

Women : as mothers, 26 ff. ; as wage- 
earners, 27 ; pay of, 27 ; law and, 
31 ; as wives, 31 ; and property 
rights, 32 ; as voters, 32 ; in the 
courts, 249. 



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